Alright, this post may not be as uplifting as my others (which is saying a lot), but it is something I wanted to put down in writing. Maybe for you, maybe for me. Who knows.
Oddly, this stems from reading up on book marketing and "finding your target audience". Honestly, it's not something I've really explored in depth... or even considered. I was just writing because this was the story I needed to tell. So tonight, I started thinking about it. Who am I writing for? What kind of people would read my book? What kind of people would enjoy it; possibly even benefit from it?
Science fiction fans are an obvious, throw-away answer. Yes, The Mallis Tragedy is an urban sci-fi series. It's action/adventure. It's philosophical, and (I hope) it's entertaining.
However, over the last few months, as I've talked with my friends, many of whom have been going through troubling times, I've found myself saying "READ MY BOOK". I think that answers my question right there. Of course I want everyone to read my book, but these were the people that I actually thought would benefit from it. My driving thought while touting that bit of promotion was, "If you read this, it may resonate on a level with you that others may not see; that others may not even know exists. It might help you."
When I began writing Snake Eyes Lie (Book One of the series), I was in a pretty dark place in my life. I had just escaped a cult lifestyle that I had somehow built around myself, and was living on the streets of a city that hated me during a fairly nasty winter (even by Wisconsin standards). That solitude gave me plenty of time to reflect on my life and the many mistakes that stitched it all together.
In my youth, I was one of those depressed, emo "self-cutters" (we called them goth in my day). Now, anyone who has ever been through that knows that the whole cutting-yourself-thing isn't about suicide. It's a cry for attention, and we never pretend that it's anything else. It's about feeling wounded and damaged on a level that no one can see, and therefore, no one can understand. We can't point at it and say "that's where it hurts". We can't apply a salve and watch it heal. It's a lesion on our memories that mocks us with every person who passes by without asking "Are you okay?"
So we cut ourselves. We manifest that wound and revel in its pain. We feel better because now it's "real". Now it can heal, even if it's only temporary.
That is where my story came from. It's about a dark world of oppression, bad choices, and unfortunate events. The heroes are those who can shut off their emotions, and when they do, they can physically see all those ethereal truths that others are blind to. They can see the struggle between people, even when those people can't see it themselves.
Some shitty things have happened in my life. Many were by my own hand, and some were just a really... really bad draw of the proverbial cards, and I have never been good at expressing my emotions. (They're gross and sticky.) This inescapable silence has caused its own share of problems, and has, in the past, deteriorated some of the best parts of myself.
Tragedy happens, and when people assume you feel nothing for it, they grow distant. They grow silent themselves. They grow to hate you.
So there you have it. That is my target audience. The introverts, imprisoned within themselves. The people who seem to not feel simply because they're afraid of how deep their emotions truly go. It is my hope that Snake Eyes Lie, and the rest of The Mallis Tragedy gives you something to hold on to. I want you to know that, even though you can't always speak, someone can always hear you. And maybe, if I can write well enough, my heroes will help you find your own strength and draw your amber light to the surface.
MAN! That's bleak. For those of you not depressed, I apologize for that. The book also has some great one-liners, mutant creatures and big, big explosions. :)
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