The Power of Books
Have you ever pondered the power of a book? From the day we discover our first story, we are transported into a different world. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am. These simple words soothe and delight us. Charm us into reciting them over and over because they just sound so good in our heads even if they are nonsensical. The awesome power of a good tale to firmly snare our attention from toddler to septuagenarian is truly staggering. Books take us into the personal lives and thoughts of characters who we inhabit through the pages of a book. We first become enamored with pictures and colors, simple stories and fables, moral takes on doing the right thing. We get scared by big bad wolves and thrilled by knights in shining armor. We evolve and gasp at boys with wizardry and become infatuated with teen vampires with glittery skin. We mature into mysteries and thrillers where the bodies pile up and the plots thicken. We sink our teeth into historic sagas and generational tales that sweep us into other times and ways of lives. We read the classics and ponder where for art thou’s before we move on to scintillating romances and fall in love over and over again with brooding heroes who make us swoon.
The power of a book is astonishing in its simplicity. Pages upon pages filled with words. Good words, good pages, good books are priceless. We marvel at the author who created them, especially the ones who seem to have a secret formula to doing it over and over again. We devour these books, can’t put them down, and look forward to the next page turner to be released.
The power of books is the reason I write long into the night when I should be doing other things like sleeping. I long to create that connection, that visceral reaction, that kinetic relationship with my reader that makes them want to turn the page. I write and rewrite, read and reread, always hoping that the words committed to page will reach into the mind of the reader and twist their heart in the fist of my words, holding them in my grasp until the last page is turned. Recently a reviewer on Amazon had this to say about the first book in my Legends of Orkney Series, The Red Sun:
“The characters are brilliantly developed and the descriptive writing has the magical realm of Orkney jumping off of the pages as you read. I felt like I was right there along with Sam and his friends on one amazing, heart-pounding journey after another trying to save this special world.”
That kind of feedback is the dream of every writer, to ensnare the reader in their world, make their heart pound, and have them eager to read the next tale in the saga. It’s the reason we keep at it long after everyone else in the world has given up and gone to bed.
Keep the midnight oil burning!
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