Dies Irae Blog Tour: Embracing the Shadow

I’m excited to host Christine Fonseca today on her tour for the release of her novella Dies Irae. I remember having dinner with Christine a while back and we talked about some of our projects. And when she spoke about the story, both Dies Irae and her upcoming book Lacrimosa, which are a part of her Requiem Series, her face lit up. It’s wonderful to talk to talk with someone who has a passion for their work, and Christine definitely does. So, I’m going to turn things over to Christine, but before I do….

ANNOUNCEMENT

On this stop of the Dies Irae blog tour, I will be giving away two Dies Irae ebooks and the winner will also receive an ebook of the award-winning Misfit McCabe. Here’s how it’s going to work… comment on this post and you’re entered to win. Simple, right? One winner for both books will be drawn from the pool of all comments, and since both Christine and I write for teens, we decided that one winner will be drawn from the pool of teen commenters. So if you’re a teen, you have two opportunities to win!!!! Make sure if you’re a teen to put teen in your comment so I know. Christine, take it away.

The shadow is very much a part of human nature, and it is only at night that no shadows exist.
~Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East (page 286)

Thanks LK for hosting a leg of the blog tour for DIES IRAE. When I was deciding what to write for this post, I thought I’d talk a little about writing the “dark stuff”. As you can tell from the opening quote, I am a firm believer than we have a shadow-side capable of horrible atrocities. This is nothing new. Simply turn on the news and you can see some of the worst that humanity has to offer. But why do I want to write about it? Why even go there?

For me, I write the dark stuff as a way of understanding that aspect of humanity, and in doing so allow others to understand it too. It is sort of my version of being some great exploring on a quest. As a writer, I get to excavate all of human emotion, take it apart, look at it. In doing so, I no longer fear those elements of humanity, at least not in the same way.

So, how do I achieve this lofty goal of looking at all aspects of humanity and writing about that experience? How do I embrace my own shadow and enable myself to write about the dark stuff? The answer for me is in the question—I embrace my shadow. Literally. So I create dark characters, complex characters, tortured characters. I try to see the world through their eyes, understand the motivation behind their crimes. I let their voices seep into my thoughts. And then, I write their stories. For me, it is the only way to stay authentic in my writing. And every time I get scared to “go there”, every time I pull myself back, I smile because I know I am getting to the good stuff…the root of human nature. So I jump back into the story. And keep writing.

Before I end, I want to share one more quote from Jung:

If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do this or they do that, they are wrong, and they must be fought against. He lives in the “House of Gathering.” Such a man knows that whatever is wrong with the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow, he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day.
~Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East, page 140

How do you embrace your shadow?

And now a little bit about Christine Fonseca

School psychologist by day, critically acclaimed YA and nonfiction author by night, Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great way to explore humanity. Her debut YA Gothic series, The Requiem Series, including DIES IRAE and LACRIMOSA, examines the role of redemption, sacrifice and love. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can be sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter. Catch her daily thoughts about writing and life on her blog.

About DIES IRAE

Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love.

     Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. But when he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth as teenagers, following the rules is more difficult than they expected.
     Being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia.
     Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces, and fighting against his rising emotional, Mikayel must now decide how many rules he is willing to break to save his friends, a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity.

Author Endorsement:

Dies Irae is the perfect introduction to Christine Fonseca’s Requiem series. The beauty of the words will tempt you, the tragedy of the story will break you, and the love, woven throughout like music through the trees, will haunt you for days afterward. Dies Irae promises a tale unlike any you’ve read before.
~Ali Cross, Author of BECOME

About LACRIMOSA

As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it. Nesy is the best of the warrior angels called Sentinals. She never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets emotionally involved. Until she meets Aydan.
     He is evil incarnate; a fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate. But she can’t, because he’s also the love of her former life as a human girl—a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she was never supposed to feel.
     Now Nesy must choose between doing her duty—damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell—or saving him, and condemning herself.

Author Endorsement:

LACRIMOSA reaches out, grabs readers by the heart, and takes them on an emotional journey from the first page to the last. The last novel you’ll need to read to understand true sacrifice.
~Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSION

Don’t forget to comment and for your enjoyment, I’ve included the book trailer for The Requiem Series.