The biggest change is that we are now facing a global refugee crisis and it is on everyone’s radar. Right now, the spotlight is on Syrian refugees, but there are also current emergencies in Libya, the Central African Republic, Iraq, and South Sudan, for example. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) works in over 125 countries around the world in some of the most volatile and challenging places on the globe. Though the people come from different parts of the world, there is much commonality in their needs: food, water, shelter, a safe haven, and resettlement in a new home with all that entails. It’s our global priority now.
As far as changing my novel, I would not do so. We have news outlets to keep up with what changes day-to-day, but a good novel hopefully does not have a shelf life or expiry date. Though the book is dark, there are rays of hope. I would not dilute the depths of the dark, or the glimmer of the light in our many waters.
