Men who read James Patterson won’t buy my books. I don’t write thrillers in which there’s a maniacal killer and a ticking clock, a lot of car chases, explosions, and everyone is tall, lean, and beautiful.
But there’s lots of hard-boiled murder and mayhem in my books. One reviewer reported that I wrote like a man.
Hmmph. I’m still thinking about that.
Women who buy cozies aren’t my readership. Cozies are too quiet for me, the world too benign. And there’s only the occasional cat in my books, despite the fact that my SPCA volunteer life revolves around cats. I like my murder to happen in real time and on stage and don’t mind arterial blood spurts.
I don’t write noir in which the world is grim and unchangeable. I believe that people in general are capable of changing their lives down to the cellular level. And they sometimes do.
So is the society we live in. After all, the king can no longer storm into your house and steal your children out of their beds to serve in his army. Law and order still regulates our lives here in the United States. You might not like which laws, but we generally go along with things.
I’m not interested in writing historical, or suspense romance novels. All these genres have their place and I respect the people who do write them.
So what do I write? I like to write about big subjects that may last a while. In No Dice it’s about the impact casinos have on local communities and bullying. In Rip-Off it’s about organized crime sucking the bottom out of the tax base. I don’t want to say much about the newest one, Payback, because it’s still inching its way through the production process.
I’m also interested in complex human relationships.
My books aren’t timeless because I write to entertain you, and notions about what makes a good read will change. But my hope is still that I might sneak in a new angle of penetration on a subject you haven’t considered before.
And entertain you at the same time.