I have been embroiled in the process of discovering where my talents and desires intersect what the world wants to read, ie. the commercial book industry. My first project was admittedly a labor of love stemming from my deep felt needs and desires to communicate truth about human nature. The problem was and is, I don’t know how to label it for the consumer market. I don’t know how to market what I have written.
Some of the struggle has been to understand the market and the semantics of phrasing what I have to sell. But some of the struggle has been to simply realize what people want to read and admit that my desires in writing must intersect those desires as well. Why? Well, ’cause I need to make money.
But I don’t have to abandon it all in the name of the almighty dollar. My new artistic direction will continue to engage my passions for human nature, conflict and reconciliation, social and environmental justice and Christian spirituality. But now I am planning on it fitting in the genre of speculative fiction, steampunk, sci-fiction and fantasy. The term I am coining now for what I plan on doing is “reeferpunk.” You heard it here first. Now lets see if this can make me some money while remaining true to myself.