Lately, life has given me greater insights into what could cause a person to explode. Circumstances can escalate. Confrontation seems certain, eventually.
I’m in the process of packing, organizing, and moving. With the house decorated in “advanced ransack,” it’s difficult to find anything. Complicate the situation with several vendors working under deadline. We hired a vendor to fix up our house who may have had some skills, but the person in question had no sense of what is right in a situation.
The vendor removed my ceiling fan so I could take it with me, and then was supposed to replace it with another fan. I was out of the room briefly and the vendor decided it would be fine to put the greasy, dirty fan motor on my bedroom blanket on my bed. When I came back in the room, he questioned me, “Is it all right that I put your old fan on your bed?”
Most emphatically, I answered, “No. It is NOT!”
Looking shocked, he stared at me goggle-eyed. In a fury, I grabbed an old towel and covered my kitchen island counter, indicating he should move the old fan there.
I wanted to fire him right then, but my husband thought I was overreacting and wanted to make sure the work got done before our moving date. But, the vendor continued to show disrespect for my home and privacy. We had given him a deadline to complete the work we’d agreed upon. At the deadline, he was far from finished. He had exaggerated his abilities to do that work. We dismissed him.
Still boiling, I was angry because he ruined our blanket/bedspread.
Now translate that kind of anger into the fictional world where characters suffer frustrations with challenges like moving, weddings, new marriages, and working with difficult people. Specifically, think about the characters you’ve read about in books. In the Louisa’s Vineyard Series, characters are not docile, or constantly content or agreeable. They confront challenges.
In the Louisa’s Vineyard prequel, Love at First Sight, there’s pressure. Although falling in love is a joy, with the wrong person, someone obsessed with you, it feels scary to be the object of the obsession. (Please see the subscriber sign up on the bottom of my homepage so you can receive a free excerpt from L@FS.)
What makes it worse is when the obsessed person has power over someone less powerful. The obsession can seem so innocent, like the person is helping the student. The next step can resemble being stalked.
How can a person being stalked respond to feel safe? Contact authorities. In L@FS, Shannon does that with the support of John. As an author who has been the object of violence, I suggest people know of a safe place to go, contact the authorities, and let someone who you trust know what’s been happening.
A ruined blanket may not be the end of the world, but removing yourself from someone who offers a threat is a lifesaving approach. For me, there were other implications, which I won’t discuss for fear of being accused of defaming someone.
Protect yourself.
Many years ago, I volunteered for the Scouts. They invited us to attend a free self-defense workshop. One woman had been assaulted several times in a parking lot. In the workshop, she learned strategies to protect herself. She realized she’d been making herself vulnerable and resolved not to let that happen again.
It’s great when the aha! moment happens comes on! She also regained her self-confidence.