Into the Fire

I've just finished three novels in a series written by a familiar author (to me) who I'm sure is writing under a pen name which encompasses many other authors. An indie published author(s) of many series books, some of which are at the 22nd, 18th, and so on number of novels in each series, cannot be accused of mistake-free or edited literature. Popular stories that borrow from the mystery genre as well as sometimes using the characters or at least their names from some mystery television series.

But let's face it, some readers pay little attention to what would be considered "good" writing and tend not to notice when the author writes about their main characters getting a tingling up their spines nearly every paragraph or that their hearts are beating out of their chests in every third paragraph during a discovery moment or "scary" interaction. For those of us who take great pains not to use such obvious repetition or cliched descriptions, it definitely gets eye-rolling tedious. 

However, why, you ask, did I bother to read three of these novels? Because at first, I was interested in the heroine's story and the restoration of her reputation. And although the actual writing was annoying at times, I wanted to see how she was developed in the series. Beyond that, I don't have much to say because the third book just became frustrating, and I started not to like her for the way she handled "things." 

Anyway, these multiple series have sold thousands, maybe millions, of copies, and sometimes that in itself is a mystery to me.  

Father, thank you for the stories and characters you've given me. May I honor you with each one. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.