Hidden Buddha: Lama Rinzen in the Hungry Ghost Realm by Jim Ringel Book Tour Guest Post &Giveaway! {Ends 11/14/22}

What genre do you write and why?

I write mysteries. I write mysteries because of the questions they raise. I read mysteries for the uncertainty of not knowing and needing to figure something out.

But I must admit. I am not a fan of stock-n-trade mysteries. I have little tolerance for superheroes—either caped or the uncaped variety—who can beat bad guys twice their size or look at a crime scene and see what’s plainly not there for the reader to see. I hate deus ex machina resolutions. I dislike simple contrivances or those mysteries where the crime is easy enough to figure out from the get-go.

I shy away from anything usual.

I prefer mysterious mysteries, like Hari Kunzru’s Red Pill or Blake Couch’s Dark Matter. I like mysteries that take the reader on a ride that feels just a bit out of control. Most of all I like those mysteries that make me question. Not just the storyline and where it’s headed, but that also makes me question myself. I like mysteries that challenge.

And for the sake of our sane and developing democracy, we all should.

Mysteries can raise us up as human beings. They can help us settle into uncertainty and not-knowing. They teach us not to expect answers, but how to question the answers we’re given. And most importantly, they show us how to question the answers we give ourselves.

Thought provoking reading is the foundation of civilization. Reading teaches rational thought by appealing to our visceral emotions.

Mysteries are like carnival funhouses. The deeper we get into them, the less certain we are of what comes next. Anything less than that I just chewing gum for the eyes. I enjoy crafting mysteries because the act of writing is a coin toss. A gamble I undertake to
challenge myself into being someone new.