Why Superheroes?

Why Superheroes?

I went to my first book fair on the author side of the table this past spring. It was an event sponsored by a local publisher called Read Local NC.  As I sat behind my table, and potential readers walk by, I watched them. It was fun.

Generally, they’d walk by the tables, keeping their eyes low, on the covers of the displayed books and not meeting the eyes of the authors behind them. I get that. You can’t buy all the books, and you don’t want to end up feeling obligated because you interacted with the person.

My cover is pretty eye-catching (thanks to Polina Sapershteyn, the graphic designer). Between the bright yellow that dominates the cover and the fun feeling of the art, most people at least rest their eyes there for a moment when they’re cruising. Then they read the title. Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel.  That usually rates a look of surprise, either followed by a wrinkled nose or a glance at me to see who might have written such a thing.

A lot of people picked up the book that day to read the blurb, flip through it and ask questions. I did well for someone no one has ever heard of, between the on-site sales and the follow-up sales on Amazon in the days that followed. The question most people asked: Why Superheroes?

I forget that not everyone is as steeped in and fascinated by superheroes as I am.  So, the first few times, the question really threw me. But over the course of the day, I figured out how to answer it.

Why superheroes?

·         Because sometimes, you need a big canvas to explore a small thing on.

·         Because superpowers are my favorite kind of wish fulfillment. Don’t we all want to be heroic?

·         Because heroic characters take action when most of us would be frozen by indecision. They might be wrong, but they are decisive.

·         Because it’s easier to talk about painful and complicated issues when we think we’re just playing.

·         Because the single most fascinating question I’ve ever asked myself is: What if?

Going Through the Change is going through a change in price for a couple of days in early August. On August 5^th and 6^th you can get the Kindle edition for free on Amazon. Check it out at: http://bitly.com/face-the-change

 Samantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills. You can find her online on her blog,  Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on the Curiosity Quills page, or on Google+.