Several months out from publishing my first novel, an aunt of mine read it. She read it in one day and summarily called me to share her opinions about my writing style, my characters, and various little problems she had with the story.

Of all the notes she gave—and she gave more than a few I confess I wish she’d have given me before I published—the one that has stuck with me is how “surprising” my book was.

Knowing me and how I talk and how much time I spent in higher education, my aunt was not the least bit cagey in telling me that my book was actually very accessible and geared toward a populace audience. When she considered me as a person, she had expected an overwrought drama of a very high and dry literary tone.

I’m sorry to say, folks, that even a college graduate can guess how long a book without a hook can last in a competitive fiction market.

All my life I read books that captivated me as a reader. Any author who forgets to entertain his audience first is a moron and I can be the first to say I’d rather write a thousand good entertaining books than one great boring book.