Why even write?

I’ve been doing the internet interview thing again and recently I was asked something that I hadn’t been asked before. The questioned posed was; “What do you hope to achieve with your writing?”

I had to think about that one for a moment before I could offer a reasonable response. I’m actually not looking to achieve anything with my writing except to provide people with entertainment (an imaginary retreat from the real world). I’m not looking to win any big awards (though I’m not opposed). I don’t think I’m going to get rich from this (though that would be nice). And I’m not looking at my writing as a way to meet women (I’m married). So why exactly am I constantly in front of my keyboard tapping until carpel tunnel kicks in?

Simple, I’m addicted to storytelling.

I describe my books as quick, exciting, thought-provoking, powerful reads, devoid of mind-numbingly boring character details, but characters that will forever haunt your memory. My plots are both uniquely insightful and yet jarring at the same time.

I don’t think my books will ever hit the mainstream market but I could get a viral following of readers who want to experience the kinds of stories that stay with you long after finishing the final page. As one of my fans put it in an email to me; “I love your novels because I can read them in a few hours, which is good, because I can never put them down once I start one.”

Such high praise pinks my cheeks. The freedom of an author to write any type of novel they want without worrying if a certain publisher will accept the material is amazing. I will NEVER have a publisher or agent tell me to rewrite a novel again.

In my early, exciting days as a New York-agent-represented author I had several publishers tell me to take out what I thought were some of the best parts of my novels because they felt the scenes wouldn’t sell to the mainstream public. Well, guess what? I don’t want to sell to the mainstream public. I want to sell to people who are interested in reading something they’ve never read before, something that may touch them deeply or maybe scare the h*ll out of them. No boring, conventional, formulaic, mainstream stories here. Just a crazy, obsessed, introverted author airing out the over-cluttered attic of his mind.