I DO NOT! (Or did I already do it?)
Warning - Rant Ahead.
This was written in 2010 before I had any books published. Did I stick to my guns?
I D O N O T
I do not aspire to be the next Bruce Courtney. I do not aspire to be the next Di Morrissey. I do not aspire to be like Matthew Reilly. I don't aspire to be the next Dan Brown. Or Stephen King (even though I like his early books). Or Stephanie Myer, (God Forbid) or any other mainstream populist novelist.
They are the entertainers of their day and that is their right. They are the circus come to town. They are clowns in paint and frivolity. The court jesters in rhyme and folly.
But they will not be worth a word beyond their time. Their work will be forgotten as quickly as it was consumed. The McDonalds of Publishing.
I aspire to create something that is worthwhile, that I can be proud of. That perhaps can be admired by a few, and that's all I'm after, as long as it has some merit. Who wants to leave this world knowing what they did and left behind was disposable, as disposable as the day they created it?
Gone. Forgotten. Yesterday's story.
It's like an architect who wants their work to be respected in decades hence, rather than a kit home than will only suffice. For Now.
Sure we might need them. The masses have to be entertained somehow. But just don't justify it to me. Don't tell me your worth more than the literary sect, because you sell the most. Or that they really want to be like you, but can't do it. You're totally misguided. You're only kidding yourselves. Bubble gum. Burger. Coke. Takeaway coffee. Daily newspaper.
Around 2009
They claim that their mass appeal gives them worthiness. That numbers speak higher than critics. And it may provide them the means with which to exist comfortably. But we all meet in the same place in the end, and I'd rather have left something worth savouring, perhaps kept in a dusty bookcase or drawer somewhere, or even relegated to some digital archive as something perhaps worth reviewing to some future individual, than end up as recycled pulp for next year's toilet paper.
History has taught us that these mainstream diatribes do not survive. I'll take my chances. For I must be able to hold my head high, that I wrote to satisfy art, and to satisfy myself, than to satisfy the masses. I cannot think of a crime more heinous, than a person with artistic qualities, however minute, who shelved them in pursuit of something far more shallow. That is a crime that one cannot return from.
I'd rather die in obscurity that aim for the so called Bestseller List. I will never be there. I'll make sure of it. If by some absurd situation, I do, then I have failed.
12/5/2010
Circa 2010
Bit harsh on Stephen King. I love his books. He'll be remembered for a long time.
I certainly had a lot of confidence then, even arrogance perhaps. Maybe that's what was required in order to get to the point where books could be written and published. It took a lot of drive and work.
Since then I have had nine books published, from 2012 - 2022. If you've read any of them, maybe you will know if I stuck to the ideals of that idealistic, determined writer. Did I?
Bottomless River - Novella
Caged Without Walls - Poetry Collection
For your pleasure - Poems and art coffee table book (collaboration with Paolo Rassu)
Pseudo Stars - Story Collection
Allowing a love to die is not murder - Poetry Collection (on relationships)
A Refugee's Rage - Novella
Lone Wolf World - Novel
Perve - Novel
Us & Them and the things in-between - Story/Poetry Collection
(This post, July 2024).
Questions for now;
Have I lost my drive? Yes. Much of it is due to anti-depressant withdrawal. My story here. It's robbed me of my confidence.
Will I ever write another book? I don't know. Not in the near future.
Do I have books ready to be published? Yes
Will I publish them? I don't know. Maybe one or two but not all.
Does anyone care? Probably not haha.
If you have read any though, I would be interested in your opinion.
My Books HERE
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