The SAVANT- "It made me feel different in a way that nothing has."

​My new novel, The SAVANT, has just been published and I'm thrilled to see the first two reviews posted on Amazon. Many thanks to those reviewers, who I don't know. I wish I did. I wish I could thank them.

One of them made a surprising comment. She said, "This book did something to me that I cannot explain. It made me feel different in a way nothing ever has."

That's quite a statement, and it genuinely touched me. An editor who read the draft said something similar. The book seems to have an impact on readers.

The SAVANT is a deviation from most of my previous books, which tend to be action driven. This one is different. When I was finished writing the book, I realized that it is something special, and suspected that readers will either love it or hate it. Of course, authors want their books to be liked. Perhaps all those previous books were just the process of learning the craft of writing. The SAVANT took me to a new zone. I broke some "novel-writing rules" along the way. 

In writing stories, teachers tell you that a book lives through the main character's emotions, but what do you do with a character that doesn't experience emotions, at least in a normal way? Yet, readers tell me they are moved by the emotion in this book.

But, that's not all. Perhaps it's the setting that gives the book a uniqueness, or maybe something different? Besides being a downright fun story, The SAVANT touches on perceptions, identity, relationships, spirituality and number of other factors. It's funny, but I didn't consciously do this. It was like the main character told me his story.

Now that The SAVANT is out there, I find myself in a strange state of mind. Typically, when one book is done, I'm jumping on to the next one. While I have several plots sitting on the shelf, I somehow can't approach them. I keep wondering if I'm able to go beyond The SAVANT, and I don't have an immediate answer.

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