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For the Love of Life

Not unlike my character, Alexandria, I am  vegan and an environmentalist. I am also a supporter of all people, no matter their background, and I support the LGBT+ community.  When I originally wrote the Detective Docherty series, I wanted to write something light and enjoyable, for as many ages and as many different types of people as possible. It only occurred to me after my second book that the division between man and magickal kind, and the struggle of those two worlds in the series, encompassed something much larger than itself: it paralleled all too well how we treat our planet, the animals we share it with, and each other. The larger concepts of the Detective Docherty series are as much a part of reality as they are fantasy. 

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As a writer, I do tend to incorporate my values, ethics, and beliefs into my writing, although not every character in my books will be a representation of that, because they need to be true to their character. Not all of them are vegan, not all of them share the same faith, and not all of them are entirely good or inherently evil. It can be difficult being a writer, because you want to properly represent your characters as best as you can, but are unable to actually experience what each of your characters are going through and where they came from. Writers do their best by researching, and pooling their imagination and their experiences from daily life, to create believable characters. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it is never intended to be offensive (at least not for me anyway). As a humanitarian, environmentalist, and vegan, I do my best to respectfully represent those I feel need to be more valued in society, but also wish to show their struggle, be they animal, human, or the earth itself.

 

As a life-long animal lover, I strongly feel that their inability to speak out and defend themselves against a society that views them as lesser, either because they taste good or look good, makes them all the more in need of our support. I have been a vegetarian since I was thirteen years old, spent years in wildlife rehab and in environmental education, and I am now speaking out for them through art and literature. Not only have I made significant lifestyle changes (transitioning from vegetarian to vegan for example), but I have made a fictional avenue in which I can explore the very mindset in which we treat "different" as lesser and fear the mindset which could change it.  

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If you are interested in learning more about veganism and living more sustainably,  I have created a sub-category under this heading for a few of my favorite vegan recipes and green projects. 

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Thank you,

Sarah WaterRaven 

Raven's Hollow

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