It took me a while, believe it or not, to realize the true meaning of what my pitch for this saga should really be. Focusing on the Cyberpunk aspects of the story, the setting, the cold and technological world in which my characters evolve, the action, it came to me very recently while pitching that I was slowly forgetting the main ingredient of this whole epic adventure.

Even funnier, it took a Twitter post of all things. “Describe your entire novel in just two words.”

That is when it came to me. Instinctively, I replied : “Cyberpunk Love”. And laughed. After all, the Cyberpunk genre is quite well known for its dystopian landscape, its inhuman and nihilistic setting and the cold selfishness of its anti-heroes. Oh, and its over-the-top societal and physical violence, of course. And yet, it dawned on me that it is this dichotomy of darkness and actual human love that resonates in my mind and guts with such force, what drives my narrative and what, I hope, makes my characters so lovable.

So, as it turns out, I must admit it wholeheartedly. My story really does revolve around “Cyberpunk Love”. I have to modify my marketing material yet again...

Pit against overwhelming forces, it is the characters’ love for each other that influences each and every decisions they make and, therefore, drives the story forward. It is love that leads to sacrifice and the overcoming of these impossible odds. It is love that makes their struggle bearable and their fate heart-wrenching.

Art, in its most profound form, is about evoking emotion. And in my journey of creativity, I've discovered no concept more emotionally potent than this metaphorical light piercing through the darkness.

"It is only in the most pitch black of darkness that the faintest light shines brightest."

In the end, I truly feel that it is the struggle, this immense struggle against an inhuman system, against this sprawling mega city that swallows you whole, never to give anything in return, that makes you root for them.

Laugh with them.

Cry with them.

Bleed with them.

I know I do. Every single day.