The Beauty in Pain: Isabel Bercaw on Writing a Psychological Romance Like No Other

Award-winning entrepreneur and author, Isabel Bercaw, sits down to shed light on the inspiration behind her latest work, Swan Song; a romantic psychological thriller about a person who’s addicted to pain– but, it’s not as dark as you might think. Here’s what she has to say:

Q: Why did you choose to write about a person that’s addicted to pain?
A: I was heavily influenced by my witness to people choosing the comfort of familiarity over the discomfort of risk, even if that comfort was actually hurting their potential for happiness and success. I was fascinated by this self-sabotage that everyone has probably encountered in one way or another, whether that be through partaking in unhealthy habits, or not trying something new all together out of fear that they won’t succeed. I still personally deal with these feelings everyday, and I’m willing to bet I’m not alone in that. I wanted to depict a character who ultimately realizes that it hurts to grow, but it hurts even more to stay in one place– and that to move forward is to let go of that pain, even if it doesn’t feel as safe.

Q: How did you get into writing fiction?
A: My business background has been incredibly influential toward my interest in writing. Telling stories is a surprisingly large part of business. I learned through my experience that I was happiest in my work when I was communicating, whether that be in pitching new ideas to my team, refining how I wanted to market a new product to the public or just telling my company’s story on panels and at networking events. Exploring creative writing was a very organic use of my skill set. I had the marketing mindset that was reminding me, “make this interesting and make it make sense”, but with unlimited creative freedom, which made things really exciting.

Q: What do you hope your novel does for its readers?
A: I hope that people feel uncomfortable when they read Swan Song– let me explain. I wanted to create an honest portrayal of a character that struggles with their mental health, no matter how graphic and distressing that may be. Not only because I wanted to avoid glorifying any aspects of mental health struggles, but also because I wanted the experience of reading the novel to be a metaphor in itself. That metaphor is this– if you can get through the moments of pain and suffering, you can also experience the beauty in it all. This is what the novel is about–overcoming discomfort, in order to grow. As you read the novel, you may feel incomparable, but still relevant, discomforts as you both pursue the beauty of the story.