Don’t cover a book by its judge?!?

Hi folks, I just wanted to drop this little piece to let you know why I’ve been a little silent so far this year. No, I didn’t quit reading, I never could. (What do you mean, it’s an addiction? I’m not addicted! I can quit anytime I  … Uh, nevermind.)

No, it’s quite the opposite, really! If you’re following this blog, you might have realized that I like to read a lot of books that aren’t considered to be mainstream. (Yes, with the occasional mainstream thrown in the mix, because why not?) Over the last few years, I’ve come to enjoy lesser known authors, from small publishers. The reason is pretty much the same reason I don’t listen to the popular radio station for several hours per day: because mainstream is, kinda, always the same.

Yes, occasionally I want to consume something that follows that mainstream formula (new Reacher? Sure, sign me up!), but most of the time, I want more spice and diversity in my literature. (Or in my entertaining – you can ask my wife, and she will tell you that I listen to strange music and watch strange movies and series.)

And indie authors, not under the pressure of success by the big publishers, tend to be more creative. They dare to write things that a big publisher would never touch, like kryptonite to Superman. Because it does not follow the formula, and commercial success is not guaranteed. Take Ace of Shades, for example – a novel that is too strange for the masses. Yet there are a few people who will enjoy it!

Dan Brown, on the other hand, is – for me, at least – the prime example of what will happen to authors trying to stay in the mainstream. Angels and Demons, like The Da Vinci Code, were books I really enjoyed, and I also liked the third book in the series, The Lost Word. (It’s the book people know nothing about because there wasn’t a Tom Hanks movie about it – he did books 2, 1 and 4, in that order. I’m guessing Yoda was responsible for the order.) His fourth book about Robert Langdon, Inferno, felt oddly constructed to me, even kinda lifeless, and the great ending was, well, devastating. I felt it was the weakest Langdon book, but of course, that was before Origin, the fifth novel, which will be exhibit A to my case of showing that mainstream is like a soup that has lost all flavor.

So, I like creative ideas, and I think there are authors out there who don’t get enough exposure in my eyes. The logical conclusion for me was pretty simple – I’m trying to lend them what little exposure I can offer with this blog (with interviews assisting the reviews, if I can get them). And I also became a judge, for the indie ink awards.

I love this opportunity, and I hope you will enjoy the Finalists I review as much as I do! But, alas, you have to have a little patience – the reviews will be published after everything is judged.

So, stay tuned!