Genres and Passing Fancies

Today I learned I wasn't invited to the Meet the Author event at the ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) convention this year. I've participated in this program for three years now, so it was a bit of a letdown.

I looked at the list of authors and books that were included. I believe they were all either history or political science. Not a novel in there anywhere.

I know history and political science are hot topics these days for Muslims. I find this interesting. I wrote my only non-fiction book, which encompassed both history and political science, in the 1980s. It was published in 1990. That was long before PCs and internet connections, so the book sold slowly. It's still available. I hope to revise the manuscript sometime in the next few years.

When I wrote my book, it wasn't a hot topic. Now it is very hot. Meanwhile, I've moved on to Islamic fiction.

My mother always told me I was at least 5 years ahead of my time. I think she's right, and it's very frustrating. By the time Islamic fiction becomes popular, if I'm still alive, I wonder what I'll be writing.

There is a plethora of magazine articles instructing the writer how to cash in on the latest craze. But I always remember the words of a scholar I once knew--he's been dead for several years now. "Don't imitate. Initiate."

That seems to me to be the more honorable way to go. Though there's not as much money in it.