The last hour of almost every day is spent with a book. I read an average of twenty-five to thirty books every year. Generally, four or five are classics. About a dozen are from bestselling authors you probably know: Brad Thor, Robert Dugoni, Ward Larsen, D.L. Auffenorde, Anne Cleeland, Jon Land, and Marc Cameron. Several of these authors have become good friends.
The rest, about half, are books from new authors. How do I pick them? Some are referrals, some are from authors I met at conferences, but most are just random picks from Facebook ads that are well crafted and offer something outside the box as part of the plot.
I find that my old standbys, conflicts with drug cartels, shoot-em-up gangs in the cities, and Middle East terrorists seldom draw my attention anymore. Current events in the real world are moving faster than most of us can write a novel. The evening news and podcasts are filled with short, violent plots, and people as well as skilled authorities working hard to vanquish the bad guys.
But many newer writers tackle challenges that aren't the subject of the five o'clock news. How about using a vineyard in Oregon as a cover for political assassination as something unique? Or how a single unknown soldier in World War I carves out a place in history? Or the upcoming book from a new friend, set in Rwanda, focused on overcoming police corruption?
Like many of us, I let television fill that empty time slot in the day. But when I pick up a book, I prefer a story that makes you think as well as feel.
I encourage you to pick a novel outside the genre you usually read. The first novel in my Gritt series, Tempest North, or in my Walker series, The Eel and the Angel, will take you places you've never been, with stories that are unique. If not one of my books, find one on Facebook or from some other source that's different, and enjoy.