Donna Grant Dishes on Fears

DangerousHighlander_200x300First, thank you, Caridad, for inviting me to guest blog!

We all have something we fear whether it’s a monster we saw in a movie or something we face every day like…oh, I don’t know…spiders. (yes, I’m deathly afraid of the little buggers).

Having those fears is partly what makes us humans. When creating characters, authors want readers to connect to those characters, to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love with them, and even to fear with them.

So, I like to give my characters fears. Little Man (my 7 year old son) thinks I’m being mean by doing this, but I like to think of it as doing what comes naturally.  After all, if I’ve got to deal with my fears daily, so do my characters.

In DANGEROUS HIGHLANDER the heroine, Cara, has a fear of the dark that borders on the extreme. When you’re poor in Medieval Scotland, you don’t waste candles when sleeping. But Cara does.

It stems from when she witnessed her parents murdered by monsters. Of course, as she grew older, she thought what she had seen was changed by her young mind. (Our minds do have a way of shifting things without us even realizing it sometimes.)

That is until she meets up with those monsters again.

How each of us face our fears is what, ultimately, shapes us into the person we are. Some run from their fears. Others face them head on. Which type are you?

I’ll be giving away a signed copy of either MUTUAL DESIRE or THE PLEASURE OF HIS BED to a commenter that tells me what their fear is.

Hugs,
D
www.donnagrant.com

27 Replies to “Donna Grant Dishes on Fears”

  1. Well, I’m not afraid of dying any more, not after what I’ve been through this past year.
    Chemotherapy is the pits. It robs the body of fluid, nutrients, destroys fast growing cells, not only cancer cells but hair cells, stomach lining, finger and toe nails, taste buds…and poisons what it doesn’t kill immediately.
    What I am afraid of is the cancer coming back.

  2. Found this on RSS feed for Caridad and hope not too late to add to Donna’s comments on fears for a chance to win a book…

    I am and have always been deathly afraid of losing my eyesight. My Father contracted Glaucoma in his later years, my Mom has had Cataracts for years in both eyes and had one removed 3 years ago. I now have a cataract started in my Right Eye and we are watching it closely. Reading anything and everything I see is my #1 all time passion, hobby, obsession!!! To have to give it up in favor of audio books or learning Braille would pretty much drive me out of my mind!!!

    Jackie B Central Texas

    jacabur2008[at]gmail[dot]com

  3. My fear is fire. Everytime someone is smoking a cigarette, or are about to use a lighter or the gas I freak.

  4. I couldn’t get here yesterday for a sad reson. My biggest fear is something happening to one of my children or the grands. I don’t like a lot of things but don’t actually fear them; spiders, snakes,worms and most creepy-crawlies. Imy sense of balance so I don’t get near the edge of high places and I love flying. I guess I am just about normal. Have a great day and hugs to all.

  5. good morning caridad, and donna~
    *waves* i fear many many things, lol. i wouldn’t say i fear spiders, but they do realllly creep me out! i do fear heights. i love to fly, but i hate heights.as long as i am inclosed in a plane of building, im usually ok, but outside high…..naaa doesn’t work for me. i fear roller coasters. i have been on 3. the first 2 weren’t too bad, but a friend managed to get me on one at disney world……that was in the dark!!!! ya he told me it wasn’t a roller coaster!Lets just say he was my fav. person after i got off!!! :0)
    Anyway Happy Monday Lady’s
    Merry Christmas!!!
    JoJo

  6. Hi Donna,

    My greatest fear is irrational but I have had recurring nightmares since I was a very young child of pterydactyls coming to eat me. They catch me out in the open and toy with me before swooping in for the kill. Unfortunately, in my nightmares they normally get their claws hooked in me and I start screaming then wake up…..stupid since they are extinct (I hope!) but I have five older brothers who are (I am sure) at the root of this!

  7. I don’t like spiders much either, but I have to be brave and kill them (if they’re in the house), because there’s no one else to do it. And I’d rather do that than think they’re somewhere waiting to crawl on me. Outside, I leave the critters alone – just don’t invade my space. I have my fears and usually I’ll try to ignore whatever it is and hope it goes away. Once I face the fact that I have to deal with whatever it is, I grit my teeth and deal with it, because it’s better to get it over with than to keep worrying about it.

  8. My fear is spiders, i’m terrified of them. I have always had a fear of spiders but could put up with them if i really had to, that was until about a year ago when i was lying in bed reading and felt something on my leg, pulling back the duvet to find a rather large spider walking up my leg. I think half the neighbourhood heard me screaming, i now wont even stay in the same room with one no matter how tiny it may be.

    Thanks for running this great giveaway

    Good Luck to all who enter. xx

  9. I also fear heights, but it’s getting a little better. I can go out on a balcony, but I can’t look down for too long. I hope someday I’ll be able to conquer the fear by bungee jumping.

  10. I am afraid of falling… heights are a problem… I really do not like ladders and not a fan of ferris wheels, but I love roller coasters… I guess roller coasters are fun because of how fast they are, but I hate being stuck on a ferris wheel…

  11. My biggest fear is snakes they are just so creepy and crawly to me. whenever I see one I always turn or run the other way!

  12. Tight narrow places. After reading Nevada Barr’s book about the cave and the news reports last week of the guy getting stuck upside down and not making it, I don’t think my fears are irrational at all :>)

  13. I have a fear of heights. I have managed to fly before, but it’s not fun. I’m not much for enclosed spaces either. When we went to Carlesbad Caverns when I was younger I still remember how trapped I felt. I don’t do caves.

  14. Spiders . I wasn’t scared of spiders until my hubby was bitten by one and spent 8 days in the hospital and nearly lost his life. I will never forget the day he called to say the doctor was considering removing his left arm because the infection was heading for his heart which would mean instant death. I think I was in shock for a few minutes as we never expected that news. I drove in tears to be with my hubby at the hospital and when I walked in the door the doctor was there and a nurse. They just found out Gary’s fever had broken which meant the infection was leaving and not moving any further. He was on the road to recovery and still had his arm and his life back. My tears turned into tears of joy but what a scare. Now I hate spiders..no matter what kind. susan L.

  15. Caridad – I love heights, so can’t imagine being afraid of them. I commend you for facing it though. 🙂

    Anna – Wow, girl. That takes a lot of guts to face that kind of fear every day. Hope it gets easier for you.

    Netti – You’ve never seen someone freak out until you’ve seen me encounter a spider. And the little buggers always come right at me. Don’t know what it is, but I can difinitely relate to you.

    hugs,
    D

  16. My grandmother lost a breast to a spider bite. I grew up seeing the horrible scar left from this; this has made me terrified of spiders. To the point I will scream like a little girl if I see one (sad, I know). 😀

  17. I’m afraid of the outside world…I have agoraphobia and I try and swallow my fears everytime I go out. I fight my fear all the time…although I’m always anxious to come home as soon as possible when I am outside. It’s an ongoing battle.

  18. Good morning, Donna and thanks for being my guest today. I hope the snow doesn’t keep visitors away! VBG.

    I have a fear of heights and of flying, but I don’t allow it to stop me. I’ve climbed to the tops of tall buildings and have to fly all the time. It can get hairy at times!

Comments are closed.