Book Insights: Tia and Kyla – Two Products of Foster Care

There are some recurring themes in some of my books. Growing up in foster care is one of them.
I didn’t grow up in it but I was IN IT twice for brief periods and remember it well. My mother married my father at fifteen and had me at sixteen. Life was challenging for us at times. That’s all I want to say on that.
I’m also close to a few people who did grow up in the system, either because of fate or because of their choice to get out of painful and abusive situations.
The Crenshaws in The Dominator series are based on REAL PEOPLE who have made a difference in the lives of many girls, one that is near and dear to me. The grandparents took some of those girls in at eighteen in a bachelorette apartment in their home, helping them gently leave the nest.
(When I wrote about them I never asked her if it was okay. I never fathomed I would sell thousands of copies of the book. I hope that if she ever reads it, she sees that I was just trying to honour people that have hearts of gold.)

Kyla

Kyla of The Nectar Trilogy was turfed out at 18 and forced to figure it out on her own. She had a chip on her shoulder and was skeptical of everyone, not wanting anyone close for fear of being hurt or getting attached and being abandoned. She hinted that she experienced all sorts of hurt at the hands of foster parents.

Tia

Tia lucked out with a foster family who treated her like one of their own. It was likely part of the reason why she became someone who would always look for the good in other people, even if they had wronged her.

Both of these female protagonists saw good and bad as a result of how they tried to cope with their situations.

• Kyla was isolated, alone because of her fear of being hurt. She fought love every step of the way with Tristan.
• Tia got hurt repeatedly by her father because she kept forgiving him – desperate to believe in the good in everyone. Even the man who was forcing her to be with him. And she forgave Tommy more than once for things that in real life most of us would find unforgivable.

Both of these women found themselves with very domineering men who refused to let them go, who would do violence against others who tried to come between them. And both of these women found their way to deep and immeasurable love, despite what they’d been through in their lives.

We can all find our way to happy, regardless of what life throws at us and despite our pasts.

Are the relationships with these guys healthy?

• Tommy — a ticking time bomb who Tia has to handle like a complicated IED that’s always about to explode and she never knows what sort of shrapnel there will be.
• Tristan and Kyla — in a completely co-dependent relationship. They can’t exist without one another.

Maybe not healthy, but in my fictional world, these women and men were all damaged but despite that, they all experienced growth. Nothing ever became perfect, but they all ultimately get something out of their relationships. Imperfect but unconditional love.

It’s up to us to decide to be happy. Regardless of what we endured in our pasts, we are solely responsible for who we become.

People can have similar stories with nuances that result in very different attitudes. And, people can find their happily-ever-after even if the road to get there is fraught with turmoil.

And the idea of unconditional love, despite our flaws, is something many of us crave, isn’t it?