“The Harpist” is a dark romance I never had the intention of writing, but it ended up preying on my mind so much, that I finally decided to do it.
Nine years ago, I had a serious bout of gastroenteritis and was very ill for over four weeks with a very high fever. I couldn’t keep food down, and what did go down, immediately came out the other end with no control. My wonderful husband took care of me the entire time with a lot of love and understanding and patience…I am not the best patient, in fact, a very grouchy one.
One night as I was drifting off to sleep in a high fever, a story started to play in my mind just as if I were watching a movie. It was the story of a girl raised on a farm in Ohio who had a talent playing the harp. Her instructor thought she was good enough to play professionally and recommended her to a music school in Edinburgh, Scotland.
As the “movie” played out through the night, the characters all came into focus as if they were real people. The story progressed into a love triangle with an innocent girl, Brianna (the harpist), a young man, Gerry, who had previously been a musician in the early 60’s music scene in Liverpool, England, and a musician friend, Malcolm, who had exploded into a famous rock star.
The “movie” played in my mind off and on all night, concluding as I looked out the window and saw dawn approaching. When it ended, I felt as if movie credits were rolling across a screen; it was that real.
The story was disturbing. It included every emotion, from love and joy to despair and uncontrolled anger along with many others I found unsettling. And it would not leave my mind.
Once I was well, I jotted down some notes about the story hoping to get it out of my mind, and for several months, I didn’t really think about it again.
But then one night, I watched Saturday Night Live and when I saw their musical guest, I gave a start…there was Malcolm! It was as if the entire story re-activated in my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about it again.
I pulled out the notes I’d made, and decided I needed to write the book, that maybe there was a purpose in writing it.
A few weeks later, I had the book written, ordered a cover design and published it in April, 2018.
Some of my readers who later read the book said it was better than the “Necklace” books and the story was “gripping,” while others said it was too dark and disturbing and had too much violence.
Read it and you can be the judge.