July 1, 2025
Why I Had to Write The Lotus Mark Series
Why I Had to Write The Lotus Mark Series
Every author is asked one question more than any other: "What's your book about?" But the question that truly matters, the one that keeps me up at night and drives me to the page, is "Why? "Why tell this story? Why walk with these characters through their darkest moments? The Lotus Mark series wasn't just an idea; it felt like a necessity. I needed to write these books because I wanted to explore the truths we often turn away from... the messy, uncomfortable, and deeply human realities of trauma and the fight to heal.
It all started with The Pink Lotus and a single, haunting question: Where do the scars we can't see come from? I was tired of stories where trauma was a simple backstory, a neat plot point to explain a character's motivations. In the real world, it's not like that. Trauma is a living thing. It's a ghost that follows you, shaping your choices, your relationships, and the very lens through which you see the world. I wanted to write a story that was unflinchingly honest about that. I needed to create a character, Lily, who wasn't just a hero or a victim, but a complicated person trying to navigate the wreckage of their past. The Pink Lotus became my exploration of that initial impact—the moment everything shatters—and the desperate, often failing, attempts to hold the pieces together. It's about systemic failure, yes, but at its heart, it's about the profound personal failure we feel when we can't save ourselves or the people we love.
After finishing the first book, I realized the story was far from over. The real challenge wasn't just surviving the initial trauma, but learning how to live in the aftermath. That is the entire reason The Blue Lotus had to be written. If The Pink Lotus is about the wound, The Blue Lotus is about the scar. It’s about the quiet, grueling work that healing demands. It's about the relapses, the setbacks, and the fragile glimmers of hope. What does recovery actually look like? It's not a triumphant, overnight transformation. It's two steps forward, one step back. It's rebuilding trust when you've only ever known betrayal. It’s facing the reflection in the mirror and choosing, day after day, to fight for the person staring back. I wrote The Blue Lotus to honor that messy, unglamorous, and courageous process. I wanted to show that the fight doesn't end when the credits roll. For many, that's when the real battle begins.
The Lotus Mark series is my journey into the dark, but it's also my testament to the resilience of the human spirit. These books are gritty and they are honest, because the topics they explore demand nothing less. Thank you for being brave enough to take this journey with me.