The theme of happiness is central to all of my novels and stories. Everyone is well-aware of the necessity of happiness on an individual level and everyone wants to be happy in some way or another. At the very least, they want relief from the pain that is a part of the human condition.

But the importance of happiness on a global level is so often overlooked. That is, the happy guy who’s walking down the street whistling a song isn’t thinking about his latest plot to destroy the world, (unless he’s a complete psychopath). Truly happy people aren’t thinking of hurting others, buying lots of guns, screwing over the poor, or dumping chemicals in a river because they’re not living out of fear. They’re living out of love.

Many miserable people look for happiness outside of themselves in one or another form of material wealth and fail because the outside can never be enough. If more people understood that happiness lives within and comes from having peace and love and creative and spiritual outlets, the world would be a better place.

The characters in my novels struggle to find their own path to happiness and do so with determination and resilience. For Silvia in Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, it means making peace with her family and herself; for Cosmo, in Discovery of an Eagle, it means living for the day and living life fully; and for Donna in my forthcoming novel, it means living authentically.

 

This post is from my blog series, “Fiction Books about Happiness.” The theme of happiness runs throughout all of my novels, including Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees, Discovery of an Eagle, and The Bird that Sang in Color. These books are available from all major online book sellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.