In the middle (I almost wrote muddle and that would work also.) of designing a marketing plan for my new novel, I’ve been consumed with lists of things to do to promote the work, to get it in front of readers. Note that I did not say to sell the book. It would be nice to recoup the expenses of self publishing, but deep down and high up, my goal is for the book to arrive in the hands of people who will read it.

Edward Abbey, outspoken guy that he was, writes in Postcards from Ed, that he “expect[s] the novelist to aspire to improve the world” (145). That’s a big expectation. He has challenged me to write from belief rather than ambition. Providence is about people caught up in the potential effects of climate change. The previous novel, Accidental Child, also grew from a what-if that had me musing about the disasters we face if we don’t curb our destructive use of natural resources.

People ask me how the book is selling, and they are puzzled when I say that I don’t know. Sales are only one indication of who might read the book and care about the characters about their lives and our future. Maybe pass it on to another reader. In the current political climate, I see little attention to issues that are drowning in the hubris and rancor that fill the news outlets. We still have racism, climate abuse, poverty, war and illness. I vote for a more reasoned, balanced awareness of what we should be concerned about. I write to remind myself, and you, that the world is complex, the people are sad, and the future needs our attention.

Read for Equality

Wright, Richard. Black Boy (American Hunger).