Guest Post: How do we get through the tough stuff? by Karen Rose

photo Deborah Finegold

It's paperback publication day tomorrow for Alone in the Dark, the latest novel from International bestselling author Karen Rose, so it's my absolute pleasure to welcome Karen to the blog today with a guest piece about how she and her characters overcome hardship.

My husband and I have been together for thirty-four years. Most of it has been a joyous delight.  Other things – like cancer and economic uncertainty and two kids with disabilities – not always a parade.  I’m told that adversity makes us stronger.  I don’t think that’s always true.  Some people crumble in the face of hardship. 

Others pick themselves up and push their way through. I have learned, though, while it is possible to overcome on your own, it leaves you weaker in body and spirit. 

It’s hard to accept help when your pride hurts, but we did that when I lost my job and went from comfortable to nearly homeless in a few months.  It’s alarming how quickly it can happen.  My friend opened her home to us, and so, even though we had to pinch every penny to buy groceries for our kids, we had a roof over our heads.

Eventually we dug our way out and bought the house from my friend.  That’s where my family and I live now.  We are beyond grateful for her friendship.

The relationships we build are key to overcoming hardship.  The support of friends and family – either the one we’re born into or the one we make – is key.

ALONE IN THE DARK’s hero, Marcus O’Bannion, survived a childhood trauma that would crush most grown men.  He simply endures for years by hiding his fear behind boldness and activism. But when he meets Scarlett Bishop, he finally shares his secrets and learns the difference between simply enduring and overcoming.

We can overcome hardship by realizing that no man is an island and accepting support from those who love us.  And then, when we’re able, by offering that same support to others.  

Former Army Ranger Marcus O'Bannion and homicide cop Scarlett Bishop have met only briefly but when Scarlett receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she immediately recognises the hauntingly smooth voice asking her to meet him in one of Cincinnati's roughest areas.

On arriving, Scarlett finds the body of a seventeen-year-old Asian girl and Marcus injured. A fierce champion of victims' rights, Marcus claims the young woman was working for an affluent local family and the last time he saw her she was terrified, abused, and clearly in need of help. Having agreed to meet her, both Marcus and the young woman were targeted for death.

As they investigate, Scarlett and Marcus are pulled into the dangerous world of human trafficking where they soon realise they are going to have to become as ruthless as those they are hunting.

Because if they don't, how many other girls may end up alone in the dark?