Town and Hearth > Novel

I have recently published my novel, Earlier Heaven. It is a work of anthropological science fiction that addresses disability, nontraditional families, and spiritual betterment. It takes place in my "Town and Hearth" universe that I have been writing and talking about since I was ten years old. Here is a summary:

In Hearth, the Earth-like afterlife of those who have died untimely deaths, young Holocaust victims have come of age and Martin Luther King, Jr. still preaches. Theresa, a young runaway who uses a wheelchair, is given refuge by Jamie and his husband Gabe. Jamie has severe, debilitating asthma, and he bonds with Theresa through their shared experience of disability. Though Jamie is intent upon sheltering Theresa from those who would use her, he finds himself unable to protect her when she chooses to take part in a risky plot to save the city from destruction. As the years pass, Jamie struggles with worsening health and a husband who clings to the status quo. He raises adopted children, explores gender identity, and strives for spiritual purity, always haunted by the memory of a girl whose cosmic destiny will bring Earth and Hearth into a new age of peace.

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in disability, and I have put a great deal of medical and sociological research into this book. Disability and illness are important plot elements, never metaphors for character itself. Characters act realistically with their disabilities, not in spite of them or in an attempt to "overcome" them. Respect and authenticity are priorities of mine, and my novel has been critiqued by individuals who have medical conditions similar to the main characters (including Tim Brookes, author of Catching My Breath: An Asthmatic Explores His Illness).

I began to write this novel a year after I broke up with my first love. It began as a way to work out emotional issues that I had not previously been dealing with well. Eventually, the book took on a life of its own and became something wonderful, joyous, and fulfilling. Finding the characters, getting to know them, and living with them has been a thrill. Jamie, the protagonist, is so strong in my mind that I feel him there for me, particularly in times of physical distress. As he says in the novel, "Pain won't hurt you. I've felt a lot of it in my life, and I'm still here."

Read the first five chapters and access the purchase link at the book's own website.