Things previously unexplained

Yes, I have recently been going over the catalog of books that I've written and it occurred to me that some of the subject matter needs to be explained. I freely admit that there is a fair amount of violence committed against women in my books and that has troubled me of late. It doesn't mean that I am in favor of it, or that I have any 'dark' leanings in my personal life; far from it, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." is my watchword and always has been. No, in my stumblingly, clumsy way, I have been trying to point out to people just how much violence is directed toward women in 'real life'. My awareness of this situation goes back a long way, so please bear with me. After my first wife and I were divorced, I obviously began to date and time after time, I learned that the many of the women I dated had been either raped or abused by husbands, boyfriends or casual dates. Not just once, but several times. All of them had their psyches marred by the occurrences and most were able to move past it and take up their lives again, while a couple of others were bitter and spiteful. I came to recognize the hallmarks of women who had been abused and when I began writing, I decided that besides seeking to entertain the reader, I also wanted to attempt to educate them. By showing in my books just how easily and quickly such things could happen, I thought that the readers might also become aware of the situation that is prevalent in our society. Now, I'm not saying that I can take one look at a woman and know that such a thing has happened to her. No, it takes a while to get to know them and judge by their responses to certain stimuli if they can count abuse by a trusted person in their experiences. It's not a skill that I ever thought I would develop, or need. So, in closing, when you read my books and find such subject matter in them, it's not that I am glorifying it in any way, rather, I am decrying it at the top of my voice. I hope that in the responses of the heroes and heroines of my books, I am showing how I feel about it. Thank you, Derek A. Murphy Author of Gulf of the Plains, Dolly Games and others.