James Tugend asked Fred Van Lente:

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Fred Van Lente Hi James, thanks for the question and the congrats. I mean, you've got to keep in mind I have spent most of my professional career in comics, which is a pretty niche market to begin with even with recent expansions, so transitioning into novels it just seems like another niche market to me. The point being I don't think you necessarily need a large audience to make a living at it, you just need a consistent one.

Unfortunately, exploring new ideas has never been a prominent feature of the human animal. Paradoxically, social media allows to silo ourselves off from opposing views even more easily by locking ourselves into networks with just like-minded ditto-heads.

That's why I am always profoundly moved when someone tells me my work moved them. It means I got through the veil and made a connection with a total stranger, and that's a rare and special thing.

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