I received a recent review for The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier on Amazon.com that stopped me for a moment because of one line:
“It has stayed in my mind.”
That’s not the first time I’ve heard it. Other readers have said similar things in different ways. But seeing it written so simply made me realise something:
That’s the real test of a story.
Not whether it entertains in the moment, but whether it lingers long afterwards. Whether something about it resonates.
This particular review also echoed something I’ve noticed other readers pick up on more and more: What initially appears as a well-trodden genre… becomes something far more complicated.
That shift is deliberate.
One of my intentions with The Mereland Chronicles is to tell a story that feels closer to life itself. Because life doesn’t sit neatly in a single genre.
Some days are adventure.
Some are quiet.
Some are uncomfortable.
And occasionally, there’s something that looks like romance.
So I made a decision early on:
– Not to force this story into a box.
– Not to shape it purely around what a genre expects.
That’s a risk. Stories that fit neatly into categories are often easier to sell. But The Mereland Chronicles doesn’t stay in one place. Instead, it leans to a feeling of not quite knowing where things are going… and the need to keep reading to find out.
The kind of story where you sense a shift before you understand it.
Where something feels off, just enough to pull you forward.
And from the response so far, that risk seems to be connecting with more and more new readers. Perhaps there’s something refreshing in a story that doesn’t fit neatly into a genre, one that unfolds more like life itself, and lingers because of it.
That line – “it has stayed in my mind” – tells me it’s doing exactly what it should.
If you’ve read it and felt the same, leaving a review makes a real difference – especially on Amazon and Goodreads. It helps other readers discover the story.
⭐️ Discover the story that stays with you. Order now on Amazon ⭐️
-Scrib.
Paul J. Scribbans - Author 