Following an argument with her then-boyfriend, John, Amy Martin is the victim of sexual assault. John is nurturing and means well, but his micromanaging urging to seek therapy only pushes her further away from him. When she meets charismatic artist, Noah, who does not push her to do anything she does not already want to do, Amy finds herself swept away with Noah and all the freedom from her hurt and perceived responsibilities that he represents. Amy finds herself cheating on John, despite her best judgment. Hiding her actions from her friends and loved ones alike, Amy falls deeper and deeper in love with someone she does not really know. In a self-destructive spiral, she finds herself more and more caught up in a web of deception and increasing stress as she sees the pain she is putting both Noah and John through every day she refuses to make up her mind. By the time Amy discovers that Noah is not what he seems to be, during years of a tumultuous marriage, where she slowly comes to understand his mental illness, it is too late and she finds herself blind-sided by his eventual suicide.
Based very loosely on a series of unrelated true events, this novel deals with themes such as the balance one must strike between accepting help and determining their own path in life, mental illness, and human willingness to ignore the worst in the people we love because it is easier to only see their good qualities. Although the plot of this novel revolves heavily around romance and romantic relationships, I do not consider it a “romance novel.” Rather, I prefer to think of my work as focusing on love stories, but falling more closely into what I can only call “contemporary commercial fiction.” Unlike a typical romance novel, my book focuses more on the people participating in the relationship, rather than the progression of the relationship itself.
","abstract_html":"<p>Following an argument with her then-boyfriend, John, Amy Martin is the victim of sexual assault. John is nurturing and means well, but his micromanaging urging to seek therapy only pushes her further away from him. When she meets charismatic artist, Noah, who does not push her to do anything she does not already want to do, Amy finds herself swept away with Noah and all the freedom from her hurt and perceived responsibilities that he represents. Amy finds herself cheating on John, despite her best judgment. Hiding her actions from her friends and loved ones alike, Amy falls deeper and deeper in love with someone she does not really know. In a self-destructive spiral, she finds herself more and more caught up in a web of deception and increasing stress as she sees the pain she is putting both Noah and John through every day she refuses to make up her mind. By the time Amy discovers that Noah is not what he seems to be, during years of a tumultuous marriage, where she slowly comes to understand his mental illness, it is too late and she finds herself blind-sided by his eventual suicide. </p> <p>Based very loosely on a series of unrelated true events, this novel deals with themes such as the balance one must strike between accepting help and determining their own path in life, mental illness, and human willingness to ignore the worst in the people we love because it is easier to only see their good qualities. Although the plot of this novel revolves heavily around romance and romantic relationships, I do not consider it a “romance novel.” Rather, I prefer to think of my work as focusing on love stories, but falling more closely into what I can only call “contemporary commercial fiction.” Unlike a typical romance novel, my book focuses more on the people participating in the relationship, rather than the progression of the relationship itself. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mortkowitz, Jane Ann"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:39Z","subjects":["Contemporary Fiction","Mental illness","Romance","Fiction"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2017 Jane Ann Mortkowitz"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/406","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mortkowitz, Jane Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Contemporary Fiction","Mental illness","Romance","Fiction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2017 Jane Ann Mortkowitz"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/406"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Following an argument with her then-boyfriend, John, Amy Martin is the victim of sexual assault. John is nurturing and means well, but his micromanaging urging to seek therapy only pushes her further away from him. When she meets charismatic artist, Noah, who does not push her to do anything she does not already want to do, Amy finds herself swept away with Noah and all the freedom from her hurt and perceived responsibilities that he represents. Amy finds herself cheating on John, despite her best judgment. Hiding her actions from her friends and loved ones alike, Amy falls deeper and deeper in love with someone she does not really know. In a self-destructive spiral, she finds herself more and more caught up in a web of deception and increasing stress as she sees the pain she is putting both Noah and John through every day she refuses to make up her mind. By the time Amy discovers that Noah is not what he seems to be, during years of a tumultuous marriage, where she slowly comes to understand his mental illness, it is too late and she finds herself blind-sided by his eventual suicide.
Based very loosely on a series of unrelated true events, this novel deals with themes such as the balance one must strike between accepting help and determining their own path in life, mental illness, and human willingness to ignore the worst in the people we love because it is easier to only see their good qualities. Although the plot of this novel revolves heavily around romance and romantic relationships, I do not consider it a “romance novel.” Rather, I prefer to think of my work as focusing on love stories, but falling more closely into what I can only call “contemporary commercial fiction.” Unlike a typical romance novel, my book focuses more on the people participating in the relationship, rather than the progression of the relationship itself.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Art of Sungazing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Mortkowitz, Jane Ann"],"dc:description.abstract":["Following an argument with her then-boyfriend, John, Amy Martin is the victim of sexual assault. John is nurturing and means well, but his micromanaging urging to seek therapy only pushes her further away from him. When she meets charismatic artist, Noah, who does not push her to do anything she does not already want to do, Amy finds herself swept away with Noah and all the freedom from her hurt and perceived responsibilities that he represents. Amy finds herself cheating on John, despite her best judgment. Hiding her actions from her friends and loved ones alike, Amy falls deeper and deeper in love with someone she does not really know. In a self-destructive spiral, she finds herself more and more caught up in a web of deception and increasing stress as she sees the pain she is putting both Noah and John through every day she refuses to make up her mind. By the time Amy discovers that Noah is not what he seems to be, during years of a tumultuous marriage, where she slowly comes to understand his mental illness, it is too late and she finds herself blind-sided by his eventual suicide.
Based very loosely on a series of unrelated true events, this novel deals with themes such as the balance one must strike between accepting help and determining their own path in life, mental illness, and human willingness to ignore the worst in the people we love because it is easier to only see their good qualities. Although the plot of this novel revolves heavily around romance and romantic relationships, I do not consider it a “romance novel.” Rather, I prefer to think of my work as focusing on love stories, but falling more closely into what I can only call “contemporary commercial fiction.” Unlike a typical romance novel, my book focuses more on the people participating in the relationship, rather than the progression of the relationship itself.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/406"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2017 Jane Ann Mortkowitz"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Contemporary Fiction","Mental illness","Romance","Fiction"],"dc:title":["The Art of Sungazing"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:39Z"}