Sometimes, when I ask writers about their creative processes I can get
answers from: “I saw a chair and made a story out of it” to “I was in a car and
listened to a song and created a story about it” like Ingrid Diaz, the star
behind “The blind side of love” a romantic light comedy packed with funny and
exciting situations as well as familiar experiences that anyone can relate to.
She has rewritten the novel to be published two times now. She couldn’t publish
it before because of contract issues. The final version will be published
officially in 2013. Also, she was the author of Alix & Valerie, her debut
novel which was published in 2008. When asked about how she got the idea for
TBSOL, Diaz laughs and says:
“The
idea came to me about four in the morning; back when I was in college...On the
weekends we’d stay up all night watching movies and then go out to get food at
weird hours... So, we were in the car, listening to the radio, and a song came
on. ..That same week, I’d met a girl at school who was obsessed with that
singer, and I started thinking how interesting it would be if this girl started
chatting with the singer online and didn’t know it was her. The thought led me
to wonder if one could build a love story on that premise...”
Also, she explains that the idea
stayed in her head and it slowly started to take shape. Over time, the concept
of a singer meeting a fan online morphed into one of an actress meeting someone
entirely by accident. She claims she sat down to start TBSOL about a year and a
half after that.
Although she started writing a long time after she came with the idea,
when she finished the book, her readers online told her they wanted more. They
wanted a sequel. So, she started to upload a second version by chapters from
time to time in LiveJournal while solving personal stuff. Then, people from all
countries started to follow her uploads and she found herself thanking people
when they confessed they would create an account just to read her.
“The first draft of TBSOL was under contract for publication about a
week after I finished it. I was contacted by a popular publisher of lesbian
fiction, who loved the book. I had an editor who sent me back a lot of notes. I
began editing the book for publication, but the publisher closed down before my
book was published. I was pretty disappointed. I decided to fix it a little at
a time, and focus on my paranormal series, Rayne. Then, I started working as a
professional blogger. For the next four years, I was busy and making decent
money from my blogging and graphic design work. I abandoned Rayne, but always
found myself going back to TBSOL. I felt guilty that people were still
following the story and that I wasn't updating it very frequently, so I'd work
on it from time to time. I knew people wanted more after version one because
they told me. If my publishing contract hadn't fallen through back when it did,
then TBSOL v1 would have been published, and there would be no version 2 or 3.
So, it turned out to be a blessing.”
But, does one endanger when wanting to rewrite something lots of people
in the internet have read already? Well, challenges are what Ingrid Diaz wants
to fight against when writing. TBSOL is filled with characters that deal with
challenges and this is the message she tries to give us. In 2011, in an entry
in her journal she says her biggest challenge has been figuring out the book
all over again without disappointing her readers. She admits it was a daily
struggle because their expectations were constantly affecting her creative
process. And she confesses:
“I don’t write because I’m good at it, or
because it comes easily to me. I don’t share what I’ve written because I think
it’s so amazing and everyone should read it. I do it because it scares me. I do
it because it’s difficult. I do it because I don’t want fear to stop me from
doing what I love. And I don’t want fear to stop anyone else from doing what
they love, or what they think they might love.” She writes to be brave to show
others they are not alone and they can also be brave. Especially LGBTI people,
because they can sometimes feel not relate to anyone that’s why she blogs and
other things that are related to it.
The blind side of love characters show the fear of being put out naked
in the middle of the crowd and the fear to be judged for what you love and to
be seen different from people who you care, the fear of being alone.
Julianne Franqui one of the main characters in the novel is an actress
who everybody knows and talks about, but only one person knows her, Adrian
Cruz, her best friend. She is tired and feeling like she can relate to anybody.
Until she sees the painting.
While she is in New York City she goes to Washington Square Park and
sees a painting which shows a crowd gathered in circle looking at somebody and
this person’s shadow is inside the circle but she is outside of it looking at
other place. She feels identified and buys it. What she doesn't know is that
this painting is going to be the path to fill in that emptiness she feels
within her, that her head is soon going to be upside down.
Kris Milano, the artist of the painting is the other protagonist. She is
a Puerto Rican who lives in New York City. She is twenty years old, studies
visual arts and loves it. She has a boyfriend called Nathan but actually her
parents are the ones who are in love with him, not Kris, so she is with him to
please them. She does what her parents tell her to do, so she is always
thinking about what her family would think about everything she wants to do. Kris
personally thinks the actress; Julianne Franqui is a snob until she meets her.
Although but she doesn’t know she know her, because they talk through internet.
The only person that encourages Kris’ dream to make it as an artist is Leigh
Radlin, her roommate and best friend. Leigh wants to be an actress and it’s
principally who makes Kris’ life easier to live.
One good day Julia Raye (Julianne’s real name) emails Kris to thank her
for having painted the piece. They soon start talking to each other about how
they feel and although they seem to relate to different stuff they start to get
be friends. Also, soon they find themselves doing things they are advice to do
by the other one. Reading, staying awake to watch the sunrise, go to museums
and let the paintings fill their soul with the peace they lack. All of this
without Julianne telling her, she is actually the actress. Julia tells her she
is gay. Kris starts wondering how she is like; Leigh tells her she is blond,
because the day she bought her the painting Leigh was in charge of their
selling spot at the park. Julianne is offered a gay role in a movie; she thinks
it through and decides to take it because it's filmed in New York where Kris lives.
She and Nathan break up after that he tries her to have sex with him. Kris
starts to be happier than usual, because of her friendship with Julianne but
there Julianne realizes Kris hates the actress. The lie starts to get bigger.
And at the end explodes. Kris gets angry with Julianne but forgives her. From
that, there friendship change and soon this starts to become something else,
they start to fall in love.
During all this, we watch a series of secondary characters which seem to
be there for a reason but aren’t less developed than the others. Diaz while
talking about the design of her characters claimed that for her, secondary
characters are as important as the main ones. And this, not being unnecessary
for the story makes it, even more interesting, complex and complete.
When reading TBSOL for the first time, you found yourself so entangled
in the plot, that you feel anything that you do before finishing are
distractions and even then, you find yourself wanting to know more, as not
wanting it to end.
............ To keep on reading.... go to this link.
