Gods? Where? Swat them!

In all my books, atheists are the main characters.  One of my goals for every book is to show that atheists, even when placed in very strange circumstances, have no problem making moral decisions.

There are no arguments about gods and whether they exist.  That's boring because it's a conversation about nothing.  There are no gods.  Period.

Am I kind to religion in my books?  Not a chance.  I make fun of religion at every opportunity.  It's such a fulsome and hilarious target; I can't resist.  But I never argue about religion or even talk about it.  I just show what it does and how foolish it is.  Again, why argue about nothing?  We have better things to do.

Instead, I include humorous, cutting segments that decimate ignorant religious attitudes -- and then I move on.  Nothing to see here.  This is not a huge part of my books but it's definitely there.  I would say it's a constant.  But it's done with a light touch, hopefully leaving the reader with a laugh at religion's expense.  

This isn't the main thrust of my books.  It's just a facet, something you see as the story passes it by with a chuckle, and moves on.  All three of my books are about Earth-shaking new technologies, and how they'll change our lives.  The latest horror book and the earlier sci-fi novels all deal with humanity's experiences as we first engage with the new technology.

I think that's where the action is: in our early interactions with this technology.  What does it do to us?  What will happen to us as a race when technology opens a door that changes everything?  How will we adapt?  Will we still be human?

I like to think I write rousing, intellectually stimulating tales that most thinking people (that have a sense of humor) would enjoy.  However, although I'm an atheist writer, people who are hungry for arguments against religious apologetics will be disappointed. 

But I don't think that's what atheists are looking for in a work of fiction (i.e., arguments about god).  We just want a break from the deadly, deafening religiosity all around us.  We can't walk anywhere without bumping into churches and priests, temples and rabbis, etc.  Politics is all-religion all the time these days.  People stalk the streets wearing hocus-pocus totems like crosses around their necks.  Baseball players do sign-of-the-cross voodoo moves before each at-bat -- and Fox shows the players pointing "to heaven" in slo-mo replays!!  Oy.

We want to get away from all this because it makes us intensely nauseous. We would love to enter a fictional space -- a TV show, a book, a movie, a show on Broadway -- that shows us as the normal people we are.  We are not the freaks in this game.

When my characters say they don't believe in god, it's a joyous, freeing thing.  They don't talk about it, they just live it.  A life without gods is the only rewarding life, because only then are you free to see reality without blinders on.  True reality is a gorgeous thing far more interesting than a small idea like gods.  Read some science, folks.

I think atheists will find surcease in my books.  I hope the worlds I present will seem welcoming and eye-opening.

This needs a PS.  I've let about 12 people read my first book, "The Worlds."  Most were religious people, some even devout religious people.  Almost all of them loved the book and had no problem at all with the way I present the gods issue.  One person stopped speaking to me.  Hooray!  I think I scored my first wingnut.

But on balance, what this tells me is that a mentally healthy person, even if he or she is religious, can enjoy the easy humor I bring to the gods/no-gods divide.  I don't think my work is unkind to religion, despite what I say up top.  All it does is shine a light on the foolish structures that uphold this ball of nothing we call religion.

I would like everyone to read my books, not just atheists.  Mind you, I may have said this far too late in this post.  I imagine some people just click away when they encounter any argument that threatens their strange belief system.  But that's okay.  Those are the readers who shouldn't read my books.  The rest of you: just hang on.  I think I'll start publishing them in 2011.  Then you can judge for yourself.
 
Next up, gay issues and fiction.

PPS: I used that photo of myself because of the allegedly devilish gargoyles in the background.  Best I could do for an appropriate image. Bonus: a "divinity student" who visited me one evening long ago was afraid of them. 

What worlds?

"The Worlds" is the name of the first sci-fi novel I wrote just a couple of years ago, at the age of 60.  The name is appropriate in another way too.  We writers create worlds, and I want to talk about those worlds -- how we make them, and what it's like to do this.

I've written two more novels since then.  The second one was the follow-up to the first novel.  I plan to write a trilogy, now that book 2 is finished.  That second book is called, "The Pod, the God, and the Planet."

After that, I wrote a Xmas horror novel.  After writing two novels that take place in my "Worlds" universe, I wanted to see if I could write in a different genre.  So I wrote "Xmas Carol", a fun romp through the Xmas landscape, with shivers along the way.

I haven't submitted any of the three books to a publisher, mostly because I can't decide if I want to pursue traditional publishing, or self-publish.  More about that later.  But my books did not sit unread.  I'm lucky enough to have a group of four or five faithful readers who are always willing to plow their way through my books.  I'm very grateful to them because I've gotten a lot of good feedback.  The best thing, of course is that my readers keep telling me they really liked what they read. (And I've learned how to ask my readers useful questions, like, "What part did you like the least?  Why?  What did you like best?  Did something bore you?  Tell me about it."  "Which characters seemed the most real to you?  The least?"  Etc.) 

They did a great job and unless they're all lying to me (and I know where they live, so they'd better watch out), they really did like them.  I repeat this because it's so shocking to me.  They liked my stuff.  

Hearing that someone liked your book, that they worried about this or that character, even cried when something happened to a favorite character -- is amazing.  Getting reader feedback is a tremendous help.  They can point out obvious problems that you, the writer, were blind to.  I've altered the trajectory of two books because of reader comments.  They were invaluable.

But here's the thing.  Nothing I have ever experienced compares to the excitement I've felt while writing these three books.  It was almost a magical experience.  When I'm writing and the going is good, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, that I'm hurling through a landscape, that everything is going 100 mph.  I just type without thinking and watch, amazed, as the scenery (the words on the screen) go by.  It's like being an observer, as if someone else does the writing.  It's the most amazing thing I've ever felt.

And that's why I wanted to start this blog, because of that electric excitement I feel when I'm writing.  I want to talk about it, to revel in this wild process that's taken hold of my life.  It's all about writing now; it's the only thing that matters -- creating new worlds.  And as a bonus, I get the opportunity to point out a few truths about life along the way. You can't beat this.

I start this blog, hoping to connect with other creative people, especially those who are actively writing (or creating in another field).  We are the luckiest people in the world.  I believe this, and will write much more (undoubtedly too much) about it very soon.