arms wide open, i stand alone
i’m no hero, and i’m not made of stone
Today’s song is not a romance ballad…but I think if you look you will see that it is the inspiration for a lot of writers. This song, Wrong Side of Heaven, by Five Finger Death Punch, is intended to show to the plight of the veterans who have returned home with issues but aren’t receiving help.
Why do writers write? I suspect that it’s probably for the same reason that singers sing, and today I am going to share with you another way that songs can inspire me to write – that is, by bringing up an issue or problem that needs to be solved.
In the same way that they were inspired to sing this song, many romance writers have been inspired to write stories about veterans with issues, trying to give them the fictional ‘happily ever afters’ that so many of them desperately need. Three such stories I can think of immediately are:
- Elizabeth’s Wolf by Lora Leigh
- Flashback by Maria Hammarblad
- Her Forbidden Hero by Laura Kaye
It lightens my heart when artists try, in their own myriad ways, to bring attention to real world issues. If nothing else, it can help us open our hearts and minds to those who are suffering. A few science fiction romance novels I could recommend would be:
- Kieran by Jennifer Ashley (the hero has had parts of his brain removed)
- Calder by Jennifer Ashley (the hero is horribly scarred from a plasma fire)
- Taunting Krell by Laurann Dohner (the hero has been tortured and scarred and is considered ‘undesirable’ by other cyborgs)
If you enjoy historical romance novels, I can recommend:
- The Wild Child by Mary Jo Putnam (the heroine has ptsd)
- Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss (the hero was injured in the Civil War)
right or wrong, I can hardly tell,
i’m on the wrong side of heaven, but the righteous side of hell
Written and Performed by Five Finger Death Punch
on the album The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1
Aeon Igni 