In relation to this blog, please check out, What if You Were the Main Character | Killzoneblog.com This also expands on my comments on TKZ today.

What deep thinking for a Saturday morning. Nonetheless, I looked at Steve Hooley’s list of great fiction and was surprised how many of books I read or know about. Steve was asking a question in his post, but I feel the book list overshadowed today’s intent. However, Steve did ask, “What if you decided you wanted to write a novel that would join the 50 most influential books ever written?” Oh my gosh – that’s something other people will have to do without me. If I was forced to do it, my brain would crack.

There were two thoughts I immediately had. #1, I’m not setting my writing life on the track to be a great literary figure. #2, A lot of those books bore the hell out of me. There’s also a little gem called “To Kill a Mockingbird,” that was left out and “The Count of Monte Cristo” should’ve been there too. It was kind of sad in a way, the list seemed akin to judging the hotness of women on social media.

I look at great literary fiction differently. Literary books need to be written well, have a personal impact, generate discussion, and they must entertain/engage the reader. Many of those books I fail to engage with and I just tap out.

What surprised me from the list is J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It was nice to see that book being held in the same esteem such as works like “The Iliad and The Odyssey” by Homer or “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. This made me happy because there’s room for entertainment that can go with prestige. J. R. R. Tolkien books allow the reader to have fun and engage with the characters. I believe that is Bilbo and Frodo’s purpose. But most of the other books I saw in the list are not written with the same intent. Actually a few of them have great writing but poor story.

Hence, why I don’t want to be a literary figure or setup myself as one? I don’t have a message to drive out there. I have no morals to teach anyone, even if I do live by a personal code of ethics. I’m not the guy to preach to the mass public nor do I want to be preached to either. My books should be read with wine and/or popcorn.

Thought of the day. In addition to be an author I will now consider myself an entertainer. That’s just the biz I’m in.