Sydney Avey
Dynamic Woman — Changing Times
Moral Character: A Book Review
In a pluralistic society where people disagree on standards of behavior, discussions of moral conduct can be uncomfortable. Good news for novelists. What gets us into trouble at a cocktail party plays well in story form.
Moral ambiguity possesses all the tension and conflict writers need to tell great stories. Show me a character who struggles to apply ethics to a confusing life situation. She will be challenged to draw on all her mental and moral qualities, and practice active faith. That is what builds character.
Faith theme in A Theory of Expanded Love
I was among three authors who addressed the faith theme of Caitlin’s Hicks coming novel, A Theory of Expanded Love. One of thirteen children born to a tight-knit Irish Catholic family, Annie struggles to be seen and heard. She comes into her own when love requires her to practice what she has been taught, and to challenge others to do the same.
Two of us noted that despite dissonance between the standard and the practice, Annie’s religious training equipped her well. Holding your elders accountable for what they teach you is great grist for the story mill. The third reviewer was amused by Annie’s “Catholics Only” view of heaven. (Imagine that. Like many of us, the reviewer had been raised with a Protestant point of view that excluded all Catholics from heaven.)
Annie discovers that once a person opens her heart, love triumphs over provincialism and hypocrisy.
photo credit: Moral Ambiguity via photopin (license)
Dear Sydney, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments on my soon-to-be-published novel A THEORY OF EXPANDED LOVE! I hope to be able to meet you some day soon.