Best Book?

Sometimes authors have different takes on things than the audience.  For me, it comes down to what I think my best book is versus what the general public thinks my best book is.

I personally believe Salvation Day to be my masterpiece.  It’s deep, emotionally stirring, and balances the right level of action with the right level of introspection.  I spent loads of time crafting it, and it’s my proudest achievement.  I remain convinced that if only enough people give it a chance, it can have the same impact on the public that The Shining or Guns of the South had.

However, the public seems to find Schism to be my best book.  It has certainly sold the most copies(by far), and it has garnered the most passion.  Perhaps that’s because of the subject matter and its relation to the times we live in.  Regardless, I’ve had far more people query me about Schism than any of my other three novels.  I’ve gotten emails and questions about it, and any time someone brings up a book, it’s Schism they want to talk about.  I don’t get it.

Don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed writing Schism, and I enjoy going back to read parts of it every now and then…but Salvation Day is a better story.  How could people enjoy a book that has no true main character and is about a subject we all tire of sometimes – politics – than they do a book with such a broad theme as Salvation Day(including all that goes with it)?

I think it comes down to the way all us writers misjudge what is popular.  We all have our own ideas, but it’s the audience that determines something’s popularity.  And once we find out what that is, we have to ride that wave, no matter our disagreement with their verdict.