Don’t Co-Opt My Disorder for Your Plot Device: a Rant.

by Laura K. Curtis | Dec 2, 2013 | Books, Romance | 14 comments

Recently, I read a contemporary romance with an epileptic heroine. I’m not going to name the book/author because I don’t want to make you think this is all about her or just this one book. Although that book triggered this rant because I deal with epilepsy myself, the problem is a common one.

The heroine’s name is Faith, and the information we know about her as an epileptic can be summed up in three points:

• She’s been having seizures at least since third grade (age 8)
• She was still having seizures at age 12
• She was still having seizures in high school (starts at age 15)

These are all points of information we’re given so that we know she had an uncontrolled seizure disorder for a minimum of 7 years. We also “see” her have a seizure as an adult, but we’re told that’s because she didn’t take her meds for a couple of days because she ran out. (More on that in a minute.)

Now, let me first say that I didn’t expect this heroine to have the same experience of epilepsy that I have had. People with disorders, illnesses, disabilities are not monolithic, which is precisely what makes them interesting. I was eager to see what kinds of choices the author would make for Faith and her family. Because make no mistake, no matter what your experience of epilepsy, it affects family even if you don’t contract it until adulthood; when those having seizures are children, it’s worse. Especially if the seizures cannot be controlled, which seems to be the case with Faith’s.

And I say “seems to be” because we’re never given any insight into how Faith, or anyone else in the family, has dealt with her epilepsy. Someone with as many seizures as she seems to have had would never be allowed, for example, to swim without a trained lifeguard. And she’d have been a LOT more interesting as a character if when talking about how she’d gone swimming in the lake as a kid she’d explained that she’d had to sneak away to do so since she wasn’t really allowed to swim just with other kids. But the author didn’t say that. She just blew off all the safety concerns–and legal concerns–associated with seizure disorders. Faith does all the stuff every kid does, including babysitting.

We never know how old Faith is when she finally gets her epilepsy under control. But the assumption is that she does have it controlled at the beginning of the novel since she’s driving around with nary a care in the world.

So here she is, this heroine that I am supposed to identify with. And she doesn’t bother to refill her prescription, so she has a seizure. And, given her father’s reaction, it isn’t the first time. And I sit there and go…”REALLY?” Seriously. If this had been a paperback, I’d have thrown it. But it was on my Kindle and that’s too much money.

Because while some people are non-compliant with their meds, those people are rarely allowed to keep their driver’s licenses. They’re also frequently suffering from some other major disorder like depression (which, by the way, is extremely common in the epileptic population, so it’s worth paying attention to if you’re writing an epileptic character–she doesn’t have to be depressed, but chances are she has some emotional issues or has been through therapy). People who are as well-adjusted as Faith is portrayed don’t simply take a couple days off life-saving medication because they’re too busy to pick up their refill. What would happen if she were driving when she passed out? She’s portrayed as being almost goody-two-shoes, but someone who really cared about others wouldn’t behave that way.

And even if your prescription runs out, pharmacies–especially a pharmacy in a small town where everyone knows you and knows you have seizures–will give you a couple of pills to hold you over until your doc can call in a new one. This isn’t true for all drugs, of course, but anti-convulsants have very little street value.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1984. A friend of mine was diagnosed last year. We were both told the same thing among the first directives: no booze. None at all until your seizures are controlled, and once they’re controlled, a glass here and there is fine, but enough to give you a hangover is enough to give you a seizure (basically, a hangover is your body withdrawing from alcohol, and it lowers your seizure threshold dramatically). And yet…Faith drinks. She gets buzzed on martinis. She takes a bottle of wine out of a party to console herself mere DAYS after having her seizure.

Let me be clear: I have no problem with an epileptic character who drinks. But for goodness’ sake, make her self-aware enough to understand what’s she is doing. It’s like the swimming. I just want some sense that the author hasn’t simply co-opted the “useful” parts of a complex and often devastating disorder as plot devices.

I don’t consider my life all that different from the lives of people without epilepsy in the grand scheme of things. I take a couple of pills a day, every day. I carry extras in my purse. I have little packets in my suitcases just in case I forget to pack them or they fall out of my hand luggage. Every couple of years, I get an EEG. My drugs are expensive, so I pay higher insurance premiums to get better coverage for them. But overall, you could write about my daily physical life without me looking much different from any other character in your book.

But you couldn’t write about my emotional life–and that’s what romance novels are supposed to be about–without paying heed to things like the way the drugs make me fat and tired and how that’s made me feel. Or the way that other drugs have made me lose my memory and my hair. Or the way that even though my seizures are well-controlled, I still look up every time I hear someone ask “are you okay?” and check to be sure they’re not talking to me.

There are things I cannot control, and I know I cannot control them, and I am reminded of the fact that I cannot control them twice a day every day when I take those pills. No, I don’t think about it that way, but if you imagine for even one second that it doesn’t affect me, that I am not aware of it, you’re wrong. Regardless of what  her experience of epilepsy is, every epileptic has a relationship to her disorder that is just as important as any other relationship in her life. (And, like any other relationship, it’s apt to change over time.)

And that’s true of any disorder, disease, or lasting injury, not just epilepsy. If you want to write an epileptic character, I’d be happy to talk to you about my experiences, my friends’ experiences. I can direct you to forums with people who will talk to you. If you want to write this stuff, for goodness’ sake, research the emotional impact, not just the physical symptoms and jargon.

Don’t make me throw my Kindle, and don’t co-opt my disorder for your plot device.

Saturday’s Giveaway: Hot Historical Hunks in eBook Form

by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 23, 2013 | Books, Romance | 7 comments

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably also know @meganf and @isobelcarr. What you may not know is that both of these wonderful ladies write historical romances! You may also not have known that historical gentlemen ran around bare-chested. But hey, if they look like these guys… no, just kidding.

What Not to Bare:

• Lady Charlotte Jepstow certainly knows how to make an impression—a terrible one. Each one of her ball gowns is more ostentatiously ugly than the one before. Even she has been forced to wonder: Is she unmarried because of her abysmal wardrobe, or does she wear clashing clothing because she doesn’t want to be pursued in the first place? But when Charlotte meets Lord David Marchston, suddenly a little courtship doesn’t sound so bad after all.
• David will be the first to admit he’s made some mistakes. But when he gets yanked from his post by his superiors, he is ordered to do the unthinkable to win back his position: woo his commander’s niece. If David wants his life back, he must use his skills as a negotiator to persuade society that Charlotte is a woman worth pursuing, despite her rather unusual “flair” for color. But David does such a terrific job that he develops an unexpected problem, one that violates both his rakish mentality and his marching orders: He’s starting to fall in love.

Ripe for Seduction:

• A secret society of younger sons, sworn to aid and abet each other, no matter the scandal or cost . . .
• After the scandalous demise of her marriage, Lady Olivia Carlow knows the rakes of the ton will think her fair game. So when a letter arrives bearing an indecent offer from the incorrigible Roland Devere, she seizes the opportunity. Turning the tables on the notorious rogue, she blackmails him into playing her betrothed for the season. But no matter how broad his shoulders or chiseled his features, she will never fall prey to his suave charm.
• When Roland boasted he’d be the first into Lady Olivia’s bed, he couldn’t have imagined that behind those brilliant blue eyes lurked a vixen with a scheme of her own. Still, Roland is not about to abandon his original wager. If anything, learning that the lovely Olivia is as bold as she is beautiful makes him more determined to seduce her into never saying “never” again.

I’m giving away both of these hot historicals in ebook form to take you on a trip back to the past.

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Giveaway of the Day: Expecting a Bolton Baby by Sarah M. Anderson.

by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 5, 2013 | Books, Romance | 5 comments

I know y’all are getting tired of hearing my voice every day, so today I am going to introduce you to the fabulous Sarah M. Anderson, who did my Lego trailer for Twisted. And at the bottom of the little interview, you can enter to win any format you choose of Sarah’s Expecting a Bolton Baby, e or print!

LKC: How did you get the idea to do Lego trailers?
SMA: I got the idea for Lego book trailers indirectly from Tessa Dare. She’d done some videos using only toys found in her kids’ room–and, given the number of Barbies, her kids are girls. I thought the videos were hilarious but I have 1 son–not so many Barbies (a few vintage Star Wars ‘action figures’, but not enough to do anything with). “I just don’t have Barbies. I have Legos,” I was complaining to my friend one day and then it hit me–I HAVE LEGOS. We did the first video that weekend, for Mystic Cowboy.

LKC: What part of the trailer production is “mother” and what part is “son?”
SMA: I’d say it’s about 70% Mother and 30% Son. Obviously, my son is in charge of props. He also is in charge of backdrops–he draws the skies for me and we use his science fair posterboard as the base. So usually I’m setting up the shots and shouting to him, “I NEED THE SHARK GUY! WHERE IS HE?” and he has to excavate through the thousands and thousands and thousands of Legos we have for the one shark guy. Otherwise, I’m pretty much making up the script as I go, taking the photos (lighting Lego Dudes is harder than you think!) and then uploading everything to my computer and editing it in iMovie. He hasn’t graduated to editing yet, but when we have the backdrop set up, he usually takes shots for a movie he’s going to make … someday. Last time, it was Star Wars Clone Wars Battle (with surprise Ninjago battalion!)

LKC: What’s your favorite (and least favorite) part of making a trailer?
SMA: I crack myself up. I really do. I make these for my own entertainment. I like seeing what Lego weirdness (or other toy weirdness–like Jeremy the Jet from Thomas the Tank Engine popping up in the Real Cowboy video) I can cram into two minutes or less. The least favorite part is actually taking the photos. I guess I need a better camera with a fancy flash or something, but trying to get close-ups without a flash glare is hard. Or maybe I just need to clean the boy fingerprints off the lenses!

LKC: Tell us a little about the Bolton brothers — how many of them are there, what is their relationship like, how does the family dynamic work?
SMA: They’re a fun bunch–as the video states, they put the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional’! The Boltons are three brothers that own and operate Crazy Horse Choppers, a custom-built motorcycle shop. The first book is middle brother Ben (Straddling the Line)–he’s the numbers guy who runs the company and pays the bills. Billy, the oldest (Bringing Home the Bachelor) is the hard-core biker dude who actually builds the bikes. Baby brother Bobby (Expecting a Bolton Baby) is a marketing genius who frequently butts heads with his brothers. They don’t always get along when it comes to the family business, but Boltons always put the family first. When things go to hell in a handbasket, they can count on each other!

LKC:  Can you tell us a little about the newest book (that I will be giving away), Expecting a Bolton Baby?
SMA: Bobby was a challenge because he rubs both Ben and Billy the wrong way with his grand, expensive plans that they have to pay for. He’s a playboy who’s also a marketing genius and he has big, big plans–plans that are all suddenly at risk when Stella Caine shows up at his doorstep and announces that she’s pregnant with his baby. Because Boltons always put the family first, Bobby decides he must marry her. He doesn’t expect Stella to say no–but as a consummate salesman, Bobby doesn’t take no for an answer!

Expecting a Bolton Baby Giveaway