Why Books Hurt

Dear readers:A novel is a sustained act of cruelty. In every novel I've written or read, there is a protagonist who wants something. The author's job is to make it very very difficult for the protagonist to obtain that thing. If she gets it on page one, where's the story? So basically, our job, as authors, is to torture someone. Someone we love, incidentally.Why do we do this?Because you make us. I would much rather write happy stories about nice things happening to nice people, but you wouldn't read that, would you?Don't lie.You want mayhem, suspense, unfulfilled longing, broken dreams. That's what keeps you turning the pages. And it's our job to provide that pageant of cruelty for you.So, yes, we are sadists, because you make us that way.But we do not come out of this project unscathed, mind you. The whole lengthy twisted process tortures us too.I hope you're happy.And thanks for reading.