Author’s Letter

Dear Reader,

Threads of Passion is a celebration of being female.  It explores how it feels over time – thirty years, in fact – to be a woman, inside and out.  In terms of what matters in life, this is what I know so far.  The novel traces turning points in a woman’s life and the risks one woman takes to find true love and work that feeds her soul.

Threads of Passion doesn’t follow any genre rules or formulas.  It’s fresh, even controversial.  The sensuality in the story is natural and beautiful, yet it also pushes boundaries.

As a writer, I'd like to encourage women to explore how their sensuality evolves over time.  Women of all ages look at sensuality in a new way today, but don’t often talk about it with others.  By focusing on the specific transformation of Lexi Lankford, a fictional character, it’s easy for women to begin the dialogue about sensuality and how it fuels a woman’s dreams and enriches her life.

Sometimes I wonder why so many people are comfortable reading books that explode with violence, yet balk – some of us only slightly – at stories that explode with explicit, luxurious sensuality.  Perhaps we’ve gotten used to the violent stories because there are so many of them.  

I also wonder if hard work and dedication to family are sometimes at odds with a woman’s need to celebrate and care for her own sensuality.  Happily, I’ve seen how  women who do the work to connect with themselves on a deeper level are able to extend the depth of that connection to their work and to their loved ones.  The process is largely spiritual, and perhaps it’s the only lasting way to mold a reality that mirrors an enriched inner world

All women need to protect and grow their sensuality and their soul.  While views on sensuality vary, young women thirst for insight and seek fresh role models as they shape their lives.  Many of them believe that their lives are so different from their parents’ lives that the old models for finding happiness aren’t useful. 

Women also want to read about characters who find fulfillment  –  women like themselves, not extreme depictions.  Most women grow wiser as they age, but too few feel complete in their later years.   Many mature women find love then lose it, with half divorcing at least once.  Loving again becomes more complex as women take on new roles, especially while raising children.  Those in stable marriages struggle to keep relationships fresh. 

Threads of Passion is the story of how sex, love and happily-ever-after have converged after all these thrashing, liberating years.  Women are reassured that they share the same questions, and that love and yearning get easier – and better – as years go by.

May you weave threads of passion – in work and in love – as you explore your dreams.

With warmest wishes,

Holly Hayes