After getting to know him a bit I believe that Joshua Charles, best-selling author of The Original Argument with Glenn Beck will be the next generation David Barton. He is very scholarly, and cerebral with a firm grounding into religion. When I asked him to blurb my new novel Tail of the Dragon I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be, since he is very spiritual and the characters in my new novel are rather over-the-top with rebelliousness. But I respect Charles a lot, which was born from the wonderful book that he wrote that I think is having a major impact on literature in general and the direction of the country. When Josh agreed to do a blurb for me I had a similar anxiety that I had before the blurb that Larry Schweikart gave me. When you ask best-selling authors whose work you greatly respect to review your work, there is a serious risk of being let down if they tell you what you worked three years on is no good. Writing a book is a lot like giving birth, it becomes a child of yours, and parents often don’t see the faults in their own children. The reason that blurbs are important is that they indicate that “other” people who have “been there and done that” think your work has merit and are willing to sign their valuable names to your effort. So it is a nerve-racking experience, especially when the people you are asking are people you greatly revere
(See Josh and David Barton in the last Founding Father episode on the Glenn Beck Show at the 15 minute mark)
Josh told me back in mid-July that he would give me a blurb if he liked the book in mid-August. He was busy with his involvement in Glenn Beck’s Restoring Love rally in Dallas that drew out over 60,000 people to Cowboys Stadium so his time schedule was tight. But right on time, Josh delivered and much to my relief it was a favorable blurb, which can be seen below:
“Rich Hoffman has very skillfully, and with the obvious storyteller’s touch, expressed some of the great challenges that we face as a society today in a way that anyone can understand and enjoy within the context of a great story. ‘Tail of the Dragon’ will enlighten all who read it, young and old, and I highly recommend it.”
Joshua Charles co-author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller ‘The Original Argument’ with Glenn Beck
For more on Joshua Charles and the story of The Original Argument have a look at this article which dives into much greater detail.
http://www.humanevents.com/2011/07/26/glenn-becks-coauthor-a-poster-child-for-the-original-argument/
I have many review copies of my novel out, and there will be other blurbs coming in from multiple fields of endeavor. But personally, for my own sake, the work of Josh and Larry is at the high bar mark as these are some of the best historians working in the world today—even though they would both humbly decline that statement—their work demands such recognition. Both of them are hot sellers in book stores and online sales continue to be extremely impressive, so it is a high honor to receive favorable reviews from them. My novel Tail of the Dragon certainly deals with history and many contemporary issues, but my choice in delivery is one that I had serious concerns of offending those authors, because the storyline is so intense and controversial.
You can read Larry’s blurb of Tail of the Dragon by CLICKING HERE. It was a relief to see that Josh understood what I was trying to do in the story of Rick Stevens and his DEEP trouble with the legal system that attracts so much attention that The White House gets involved in what becomes the greatest car chase ever written or filmed. It might have seemed more logical, and easier to seek the blurbs from best-selling writers of other fiction, but personally, among the many writers I enjoy and admire, it is those who are scholars of history that I most respect. So the blurb from Josh means a lot to me on a personal level.
At one level I hope Tail of the Dragon entertains readers and encourages people who may not have read a book in a while to start reading. But as Josh indicated in his blurb, I hope that the story will encourage readers to think about larger issues involving our contemporary society within the context of a deeply involving narrative. As a writer, you never know if it works until you get feedback from other writers and readers who don’t know what you’re thinking, but must learn it by the way the written word is placed on a page, which can be a real challenge if the intent is a multi-layered story that can be as deep as the reader wishes to take the material. According to Josh, he saw it and enjoyed it, and for me that is a high accomplishment. As I often say, advice is only as good as the person who gives it–well, so is a review. To get a favorable review from Josh Charles is a measure of the good person and great scholar that he is, so it means a lot to me to receive such kind words from the best-selling co-author of The Original Argument.
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This is what people are saying about my new book–Tail of the Dragon
Best Selling Co-author Larry Schweikart, A Patriot’s History of the United States (CLICK ON THE LINK TO VISIT US ON FACEBOOK)
Rich Hoffman
https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com
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