Author Sara DuBose needed a different challenge.

DuBose had written all the stories she thought to share about her childhood and the people of her “era.” She wanted to write something different.

“I needed a challenge, a different challenge,” she told the audience at ‘Afternoon’ at the Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge program Thursday. “I wanted to write something contemporary.”

DuBose said her granddaughter was a bit doubtful that a grandmother would be able to write about life in this electronic world.

“I told her that, if I made some mistakes in the writing, she could correct me…and she did,” the author said, laughing.

DuBose said the idea for a first “contemporary” book occurred to her when she learned that 60 percent of all 911 calls are related to domestic violence.

“That’s a huge problem in our society. It’s a plague that affects millions of women each year,” she said. “I was confident that literature could be used as a powerful weapon against predators.”

DuBose’s limited experience with modern technology paled next to her knowledge of law enforcement.

“I knew that if I were going to write a book about a young woman’s struggle against advancements by a predator, I would need to know how law enforcement handles and responds to those crimes,” she said.

To know and better understand the role that law enforcement plays in domestic violence cases, DuBose was granted permission to attend classes as an observer at the police academy in Montgomery. Those classes proved to be extremely important to the research into the subject matter of her novel.

“I needed background knowledge for the novel but I also wanted to share my values with the readers,” she said. “I wanted the readers to know that people can overcome obstacles in their lives. Even if they come from splintered homes, they can make something of their lives.

“‘Uncharted Waters’ is about job concerns. It’s about relationships –romance God’s way– and it’s about stalking and domestic violence. All of those are concerns in our world today. It’s almost as if we hold hope in handcuffs. It’s hard to be joyful with so many terrible things going on around us.”

But, DuBose said even in uncharted waters, if hope is held high, it is possible to make it through victorious and to know the joys that life has to offer.

DuBose is the author of “Where Hearts Live,” “Where Love Grows,” “Where Memories Linger” and “A Promise for Tomorrow.” She is also the author of a non-fiction titled “Conquering Anxiety.”

DuBose writes articles and stories for numerous publications including seven anthologies. She travels as a speaker for storytelling events, festivals, civic clubs, schools, churches and libraries.