Dark and gritty?

Here goes: My first post as T.D. Hart, author of gritty mysteries and dark thrillers.

What do those thing mean? Dark...gritty?

To me, it means stripping away the pretty cover to see what's beneath. Because what hides below our shiny veneers is often the truth: our deepest fears, the parts we know are broken. We frantically conceal the holes in our personalities because we're certain if anyone knew us--I mean really knew us--we'd be unlovable.

Most of my characters hide the same things as you and me: Guilt, anger, pain, greed (which is really fear dressed in an expensive suit); a desperate need to be loved.

Funny thing though. People believe what you show them. So on the surface my characters may display arrogance or pride, courage or humility--things we expect from fictional villains and heroes. My goal as a writer will be to peel back the glossy steel coating and expose the complex human underneath.

Learning how will take years of practice--and a level of honesty that scares me to death.

Let's see how it goes.