“Fearless” is the best word to describe Michelle Diana Lowe’s just-published book, The Glass Heart Girl. Lowe’s incredible book breaks barriers rarely crossed in such detail with grace and honesty you won’t readily find elsewhere. The Glass Heart Girl was just published yesterday, and Lowe took the time to write a guest post about herself as a writer, her book, and why she wrote on such a sensitive topic.
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About Me
I am Michelle Diana Lowe, the author of the new adult romance novel The Glass Heart Girl. I was born in East London and continue to live in this area. I wrote my very first children’s book of 20,000 words at the tender age of nine and since then, I have loved writing. I adore creative writing and seeing a character grow and develop before my very eyes. I now write professionally and have two published books, Heaven Calls For An Angel and Dangerous Calculations. The Glass Heart Girl is my third book, but my first full-length fiction novel. This book is the standalone sequel of Dangerous Calculations.
What Is The Glass Heart Girl About?
A unique but powerful book, The Glass Heart Girl set to take the new adult romance genre to a whole new level. It is a deep and riveting story about one young woman’s momentous journey as she strives to overcome her traumatic past, learns about the true meaning of love and tries to embrace a new life with the man she loves.
Twenty year old Alena Pavlis is a beautiful college student who meets the gorgeous Phillip Gregson during the Freshers’ Fair at The University of Leicester. She is immediately drawn to Phillip and falls head over heels in love with him. But her past is seeping into her consciousness and threatens to destroy their special relationship. Phillip and Becca, her floormate and best friend, support her as best they can, but when a face from five years ago comes back into Alena’s life, her world spins into chaos and she finds herself at a dangerous crossroads. It is at this crucial moment that Alena must decide to vanquish the demons of the past and fight for the beautiful life that she deserves – or let the past devour her.
Personal and Positive Perspectives
The Glass Heart Girl carries a very positive and hopeful message about a woman’s courage and bravery to face her innermost fears and work towards a happier future. It also serves as a guide for young women who are facing similar issues. I sculpted Alena’s character in such a way that she would be relatable to women 17 and older, and so that people could understand and/or identify with her situation better. I am so thankful that I have created a novel covering real issues that can help women in Alena’s position move forward with their lives.
What to expect from The Glass Heart Girl
The Glass Heart Girl is full of life and zest – it deals with both the fun and challenges of university life. There are strong, honest friendships, deep romantic relationships, painful past experiences coming to the surface and the normal things you’d expect from 20-year-old college students – mucking about in the dorm corridors, petty arguments between friends, jealousy, breakups and make ups and more.
On a more serious note, wider issues in society are addressed in a sensible and appropriate fashion, and the book does tackle young people’s attitudes towards love and relationships.
Younger women between 17 and 30 will be able to relate to and understand the young, vibrant characters that I have created. Not only will they laugh out loud in certain chapters, but they will also be moved by the emotional and heartfelt aspects to the book. For the many women who are going through what Alena has experienced, this novel will not only help them on the road to recovery, but will also help them realize they are not alone. I think that more books like The Glass Heart Girl should be written to heal, bolster and empower women.
Why I Wrote This Book
I wanted to give a voice to young women who have gone through really difficult experiences. These people’s experiences are often overlooked or disregarded, in fiction and in real life too. I have always been someone who champions people who don’t have a real voice in society and am very passionate about bringing their experiences to the forefront. It is just in my nature to be this way. I also work with vulnerable clients as part of my job as an administrator. I listen to these people’s stories, sometimes sad and even heartbreaking, and I signpost or refer these clients to counselling services, therapy or Family Support Services, which will support their needs and that of their families while helping them work through difficult issues and emotions. So I can, to some degree, understand and can identify with Alena’s story.
In real life, women who have gone through the trauma of gender violence and abuse are often sidelined and marginalised. Their stories, usually told in nonfiction books, focus heavily on the negative and lasting effects these events have on their lives. Often the stories are very downbeat until the end, when the victim might possibly overcome the trauma. I did not want to depict Alena in this way. Firstly, it was important for me to make a victim of gender violence and abuse a heroine and give her a chance to be in the spotlight, and I really wanted to write a book that did not focus on her traumatic past so decidedly. From the very start, I inject hope and laughter into Alena’s world, giving her a zany but caring best friend in Becca, as well as a supportive boyfriend in Phillip.
As you can see, this all adds up to The Glass Heart Girl‘s publication date of July 4th being very significant. I published the novel on Independence Day to symbolise Alena’s bravery and determination to fight for her independence from the past and embrace her future.
Supporting the Cause
I am dedicated to raising awareness of issues relating to gender violence and abuse against women and girls to help society understand what such individuals go through. Raising awareness of these problems will also help others to be more supportive of those around them who might be suffering similar difficulties. I will be making a small donation per book sold to Women & Girls Network, a sensational London charity that supports women and children who have experienced gender violence, rape and domestic violence. They offer support and counselling services to help these individuals work through their problems and cope with the trauma of the past so they can hopefully move forward with their lives.
Commending the Editors
I really don’t think that Christie Stratos realises how amazing she is and how sensational her company Proof Positive is. From the moment I contacted her and she proofread the first five pages of The Glass Heart Girl, she totally embraced my characters and got exactly what the book is about. I cannot believe how Morgan and Christie who edited my book, understood my characters so deeply; namely Alena, my protagonist. They also recognised the positive and important messages the novel is sending to women suffering problems similar to Alena. I would like to thank them both from the bottom of my heart, for the extraordinary job they did on my manuscript. I was so tearful and blown away when I received it back, flawless and perfect, with my characters and story thoroughly polished. I can now see the true message of The Glass Heart Girl shining through the manuscript. I thank Morgan and Christie for their hard work, enthusiasm and sheer dedication. You guys are so great at what you do, and I will be recommending you to all of my writer friends.
The Glass Heart Girl will be released on July 4, 2014 and is available as an ebook and in paperback from Amazon, and in ebook format from Kobo.
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Connect with Michelle Diana Lowe:
Website
Twitter
Amazon
Goodreads
