ARE YOU A DINOSAUR?
‘The times they are a changing.’ I seem to recall that’s a line from a Bob Dillon song, not that I would class myself as a fan. But he did write some thought-provoking lyrics. Technological changes are bombarding us every day, I feel like I’m struggling to stay afloat, to keep my head above water. No sooner you master (that’s a slight exaggeration) something it becomes obsolete, out of date, redundant and a new fan-dangled newbie bursts onto the market.
It’s not only technology that’s changing, the world is in constant turmoil. I read the first world war was given the name ‘The Great War’ and ‘The War to end all Wars.’ That worked didn’t it. Maybe there has always been conflict throughout the globe, it’s just our reporting is so much better (and graphic). The United Nations was touted as the great hope for world peace then they shot themselves in the foot by giving the major countries the right to veto any resolution.
The latest fad is climate change. Yes, I call it a fad not that I would place myself in the climate change denier box, but we’ve seen the constant procession of protest movements (all claiming to speak for the moral majority) over the years. Remember nuclear testing, Vietnam war, Iraq, anti-apartheid, genetic modification and I read some vegans have picketed supermarket meat departments (they claim eating meat is destroying the planet). And who can forget little Greta Thunberg addressing the UN which inspired a wave of school kid protests and then there is the climate revolutionaries who thought staging sit downs on busy roads was the way to get their message across. I must admit I’m bemused at how Greta managed to get an invite to address the UN. I’m still waiting for mine! I check my inbox every day.
I prefer to not disregard; but treat with a small measure cynicism, all the doom and gloom. The pressing issue, the one question that gives me sleepless nights, that evokes an avalanche of confusing mood swings is WILL MY BELOVED FOOTY TEAM WIN ON SATURDAY? Now that really is a pressing issue!
But the above is not what I want to talk about, I want to talk about DINOSAURS. Be patient, I’m getting there.
WHO READS BOOKS?
Statistics indicate females make up the majority of readers, something like 66%. From my totally unscientific observations most male readers fall into the older age bracket (no number given) but how many teenage and twenty something year old boys do you know who will sit down with a good book? And many female readers also slot into the mature age bracket.
My concern is as older readers (and writers) fall off the perch will books become relegated to a historical memento, an antiquity? Are we (writers and readers) all becoming dinosaurs and facing extinction?
Yes of course there are exceptions like the Harry Potter books which are doing a great job of introducing a younger reader to the joys, the excitement of a captivating novel.
All is not lost, as a writer and a reader my mission is to write spell binding, impossible to put down novels that leaves the reader desperate for more. Failure is not an option, the future of the printed word, and the electronic word, relies on you and me. Don’t let the team down.
For further information about the author and his novels: https://iangwelchcom.wordpress.com/
Target – Prendergast Uncovered, almost a spy thriller, a hint of a love story, but not really stepping up to the mark on both counts. I wanted to write something different, a reluctant hero, a beach bum surfer who stumbles into a hornet’s nest. Inside Target is a link to the free novelette. ‘Only the Good go to Heaven.’ This is the ONLY way you can obtain this fun story, you don’t want to miss this limited opportunity. What have you got to lose, grab your copy of both books before I have a change of heart?
Ian G Welch 