Digging deep

I've been thinking lately about what makes a book a hit.  There are so many, many books out on the market these days, particularly with so many people self-publishing.  Some folks obviously do very well, despite, sometimes very flawed works.   Other books I've loved but have gone literally nowhere.  The popular meme is that it's all in the promotion, getting your book out there in front of as many faces as possible.  Even then, there's no guarantee that viral publicity turns into viral sales.

I don't know what the secret to book success is, unfortunately, cause, believe it or not, I'd share it.  But what contents me as a writer is the same thing that contents me as a human on the planet now--searching for truth.  Writing for me is an effort to dig deep into the human condition.  We humans are complex and interesting when you get to know us.  The deeper you dig the more interesting we become.  Which means going beyond what is real to what life really means--the truth about people, places, ideas and ideals.

So that begs the question--what is life about for you?  Why are we here?  What is our purpose or do we have a purpose?  What about life is it important for you to convey to your readers?  These questions might sound a bit deep for a romance writer, but no matter what genre you prefer, if you are not offering some insight to your readers, then what is the point?  This is why many genre stories start to sound the same once a particular trend sets in--breadth surpasses depth as the function of the phenomenon.

How do you answer the questions yourself?    What is life about for you?  Why are we here?  What is our purpose or do we have a purpose?  What about life is it important for you to convey to your readers? And one more, if your readers are to take one thing away from your writing, what would you like that to be?