Warning for my readers...

Hi there valued reader!

I just wanted to take a moment to provide a warning with regards to my books. Not to worry, there's nothing sinister or dangerous afoot.

I've noticed from various feedback readers have given me that everyone reacts differently to my work. One person will love one thing, while another dislikes it, and then the reverse will be true about some other aspect of any given book.

I've really noticed a big difference between how men and women react to my work, often attaching themselves to different aspects of the story entirely (that's not a commentary on gender or applicable across all readers, purely a general observation - it's salient enough that it's left me mildly befuddled over why it is).

So I thought it best to give people a warning in terms of what you get when you read one of my books:

• I don't write generic tropes (I don't use generic formulas to build or resolve plots. This means, sometimes things will happen that you may not like - even to the point of angering you. That said, I do write stories that follow a logical stream of thought.) There are lots of authors out there who write generic tropes where you can be relatively confident that nothing too out of the ordinary will occur (or that every book the author produces will basically unfold in similar ways) - please don't make that assumption with me or you may be disappointed.
• I do write thematically. What I mean by that is, while you may at times find a plot twist not to your liking, if you think about it, it's always in keeping with the book's themes; if you were paying attention as you read, the signs were usually there that a particular twist/outcome was possible.
• A salient component to my style of storytelling is that it's usually a guessing game for the reader as to what is going on until near the end of the book. If you can't stand being teased, think twice about reading my books
• I do think people prone to negative emotional reactions (ie. easily depressed for instance) may want to consider whether my books are appropriate for them. People tend to get attached to my characters and the fates in store for them are not always kind or carried out in a reader-friendly fashion.  I do not shy away from very depressing or dark elements in my storytelling. Nor, I should add, do I overly embrace them. Each story goes where it goes, with no consideration for either me as the writer, or you as the reader. I take pride that my stories are, if nothing else, authentic. 

Is this warning even necessary? Probably not (I'm sure some of you are saying "Well, no duh.").

I do, however, feel bad when a reader says they loved one of my books but the ending, or what happened to a character, made them furious.

Unfortunately, the only way to ensure this never happens is to write generic storylines with generic twists and generic endings. I simply refuse to do that. It's not the body of work I wish to leave behind one day.

So there you have it. Be warned - sometimes you'll love what happens in my stories and to my characters, sometimes you'll hate it and want to strangle me in my sleep.  =)

Hopefully, the one thing you never say is that my stories were generic.