I Was Inspired by Ken Follett

Ken Follett has been an inspiration to me.  I find myself continuously wrapped up in his books, whether super long or short – and eagerly awaiting his next book.  The characters I root for wholeheartedly – and I thoroughly hate the bad evil characters.  Plus the plots are incredibly interesting, creative and suspenseful.  How many days did I show up at work bleary-eyed from staying up an extra hour – or two hours – reading the book till the wee hours, because I just couldn’t stop reading the next chapter?

If only I could write like that, I would feel so, well, proud of myself.  But how could I ever be that good.  I mean I am one of the top real estate lawyers in NYC, but I am now sixty-five years old and starting a fiction writing career.  I could never get that good…..or could I……?

So Ken Follett inspired me in another way.  I am going to be too honest here, but hopefully this will not ruin my hero worship.

So I found a book Mr. Follett had written under a pseudonym long ago – maybe one of his first books.  I got it and read it.  And – sorry Ken – it was truly awful.  The characters were almost shockingly wooden and the plot was so inane I couldn’t even finish it.

Now the ingredients for inspiration were upon me.

If the man, I believe, is possibly the top fiction writer in the world started out writing so poorly and could create himself into a fiction-writing genius, maybe I could do the same.  Or at least I could give it a try.

Adding a final ingredient, my entire family (including myself) all have Follett’s masterpiece opus Pillars of the Earth as one of their top five favorite books.

Could I do something like that?

Could I create a bunch of sleepy, blear-eyed people who would stay up all night reading my epic story?

Well, my book – Faythe of North Hinkapee – is my attempt to do exactly that.

It is a far-ranging epic historical fiction story with Faythe Emily Wentworth, as a young and indefatigable female protagonist, set in Colonial Times.  Notably, women – especially young women – in those days were to be seen and not heard, but Faythe is having none of that, and when her innocent younger sister is brutally raped by the ruthless Downing Family boys – and her family is falsely accused of witchcraft and burnt to death in the village square — she confronts seemingly insurmountable obstacles in her relentless quest for justice.

The plot – similar to Pillars of the Earth – is deep in the genre of Historical Fiction.  And like Pillars of the Earth, the plot starts from different antipodes, and at the end weaves the characters together into an exciting climax.

Is it as good as Ken Follett’s writing?

You know – my wife says I am ‘arrogant in a nice way’ – but I am not that much of a humbug.  No, I am not Ken Follett just yet, but if you pick up, and you read, the first chapter, I will bet that you will get sucked in, just like everyone else who has started – they all can’t wait to get to the finish.