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Guest Blog - Peter Best


Last month I was delighted to appear on fellow Bloodhound author Peter Best's excellent blog. Today I am very pleased to reciprocate. Here, in Peter's guest blog, he examines what his novel, The Burden of Truth, might give its readers. Over to you, Peter:

One of the things I love doing most, it to ask various authors questions about their books. One of the questions I sometimes ask is, If I were to read your book, what would it give me?

The thing is, a while back this was actually turned around and put to me. So this was the answer I gave to the question. If I were to read The Burden of Truth what would it give to me?

Really, the first thing I should say about this question is that it is very difficult for me to answer. The reason being; we all know that every person who loves to read, has their own personal preferences when it comes to picking a book. Each and every reader has different likes and dislikes, and not just genre. Some readers love getting to grips with a good plot, whilst others fall in love with certain characters. The point is; all readers look for, and get different things out of a book. Any book, not just this one. So, if I can’t answer what a reader will get out of this book, the best I can do is re-phrase the question to; What can I hope, The Burden of Truth will give to a reader.

First thing I would hope for, of course would be that the reader would receive many hours of entertainment and enjoy the book. Now I’m not trying to be boastful but I have been told by others, my novel is, well paced with interesting characters. I have also been told it has an interesting, and intelligent plot, with more than its fair share of twists and turns. It’s also dramatic and full of suspense. As I said this is what has been said to me in the past, and of course I’m pleased with what people have said. So to sum up, what I hope readers will get out of this book, would be something like; enjoyable entertainment.

However, that’s not all; not by a long chalk. When I first set out to write, The Burden of Truth, I wanted more than just a story. I wanted more than readers to read it and say, ‘Hey, good book, interesting plot.’ Then leave it at that. What I wanted was the reader to think about this book for a long time after reading it. I wanted this novel to get under their skin so much they think about its contents for a long, long time afterwards.

So to answer the question further; what else do I hope the reader will get out of my novel? Well, really I want the reader to delve right into the book and really understand what I’m trying to say. I want the reader to get the messages I’m trying to send. Let me explain.

There are many messages within the book, which are plain to see when you start getting into the nitty-gritty of it. However, some are hidden between the lines. Okay, I admit they’re not very well hidden, as really I don’t want the reader to work that hard. Remember I want the reader to enjoy the book too, and if he or she, simply wants to read it for sheer enjoyment of the story, then so be it. However, if the reader does wish to delve into the book to discover the hidden messages, and understands them, and to a certain degree acts on them; possibly he or she may gain something just that little extra out of the story. It could be that this little extra understanding may be that the reader might just get a little more out of life itself. Perhaps; perhaps not, only time will tell on this one.

So possibly this is the answer to the question, what do I hope readers will gain from reading The Burden of Truth? A few lessons about life!

Best leave it at that for now, take care all.

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