I just posted on Facebook that I bumped into someone who inevitably (this has happened before) said, "Are you still writing those sad books?" While I was getting over the 'still", she then told me that what the "world needs now is...madcap, happy books." Sigh. Madcap? I'm a very happy person in life, but I do happen to write dark books. The books I tend to read and adore are dark books. Kate Maloy, the fabulous writer and my friend told me, "You should have bumped into that person a little harder." Now, that made me laugh. Why is it, though that people think in dark times, we need happy entertainment? Isn't getting that pity and terror purged in a catharsis important, too?