I love fantasy—high fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero tales. They’re all enchanting to me and one of the best vehicles for getting across some of the heavier real-life subjects that can often be difficult to discuss.
After Vertigo is not my first foray into a superhero love story. That was my duology Lovesick, made up of Lovesick Gods and Lovesick Titans. In that story, I paired a superhero and his nemesis, who eventually teamed up to defeat a larger villain. Their romance began as just sex, set in motion by the hero going through some very heavy issues, specifically bipolar depression that is never cured throughout the story, but very seriously addressed and dealt with over time in ways that show how there is no quick fix for mental illness, but it can be treated and lived with.
While not quite as heavy as those topics, After Vertigo tackles social anxiety, how easy it is to withdraw from people, and how working through that takes work, and doesn’t mean you have to change who you are, but simply try to be healthy whatever ways that means for you.
I think it’s important to address these types of things in fantastical stories because it lets us escape into a safe place to consider them and discover more about ourselves and others that maybe we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about in everyday life.
There’s action, adventure, mystery, and some rather steamy romance in After Vertigo, but like all my works, it’s also a story about people finding their way in life, and I hope readers that give this tale a chance enjoy that aspect of it and relate that much more with my hero.
Stay tuned for upcoming releases!