WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL NOVELIST

I sometimes wonder if I should have given up on this subject years ago when I realized how disturbing it is to most people. Of course I would like to be successful as a novelist but I think the most important goal of any storyteller is to make an impact in society in some way.

Way back when I first started the first draft there was virtually nothing written on the subject but now there are many organizations and numerous experts who have written non-fiction books on what’s happening to 2.5 million women and children across the globe. I would like nothing more than to be helpful to the cause, if nothing more than bringing awareness to this issue.

I had to make a lot of decisions during the writing of Karma. The first thing I decided early on was to make the protagonist American because even though Americans have firm convictions and heartfelt desires to help others in the world, for many reasons–which I’m getting into on my blog–trafficked women and children have fallen through the cracks and are virtually ignored. Making my protagonist American allows readers to ponder what it would be like to have something like that happen to themselves or to someone they know or care about.

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