What does it take to sell a book when the theme of the narrative is not selling? If a person has something to say but does not want to be ridiculed for his or her beliefs and the market is not going in that direction at the time, what is the person to do? One thing that can be done is change the characters into first person and write the narrative as a true life experience and start a new direction. A person could start a new genre and play into a bigger market or could start an altogether new market and be the innovator in the market. If the theme peaks the interest of the reader then not only will the author sell books but might also gather a following with opportunities to sell an agenda. Writers who are looking for the big novel to make their mark in history struggle because there are always doubts about their writing ability or if the subject material will push them into the realms of the great authors of the past. They question, will their work be worthy, is it good enough, and will a publishing house send a letter of acceptance? Why write the novel? Why not use the ability as a writer to spin a yarn and call it reality. It cannot be proven or disproved because it is a new genre. In today’s world all a writer needs is income to keep the wolf from the door and have enough time to create a few words to get their point or ideas across, so why not write something that will peak the interest of the buyer with a new genera and market? Why not create a story that touches the foundation of western beliefs that puts into question reality. It is a win-win situation and the public will always consume what they like and what will give them an edge. With a popular subject the writer might create a paradigm shift that affects the culture. By doing this, the writer has solidified their place in history and is free to choose any direction they want. This is precisely what Whitley Strieber has done.

Whitley Strieber started his career as a novelist in 1978 after leaving a career in marketing. His genre was horror and with his works The Wolfen and The Hunger, his success started; as both were made into movies. As his career grew the folklore themes of fantasy in his writings floundered and by the mid 1980’s his direction had to change. What people wanted to read was not horror anymore. It was now time to change the direction of his writing and put a reality spin on things. He wrote Warday in 1984, describing life after a nuclear holocaust and getting the attention of the masses. This was the scare awareness technique, these themes could happen. They were not in the category of horror or folktale but topics in the light of everyday reality. This raised questions later, did his work help in the fall of the Berlin Wall or if it was just an ironic event? Who is to say but things were starting to take another direction in Strieber’s work.

In 1987 Strieber wrote Communion, this was the beginning of a trip into the horrors of altered states of reality with non- human entities. It was the start of something new that would affect all who read this book. His theme was not too far off what Carlos Castaneda had done in the 1970’s with his initiation into the shaman world in his works, The Teachings Don Juan. Castaneda had captured the public’s attention with thoughts on alternative realities and had become an initiate in a learning process that would give him the ability to see and live in different realities. Strieber had been a follower of G.I. Gurdjieff at the time and in his books that followed Communion Strieber is put through trials that make him a true initiate, like a sleeper that has awakened; one that knows while not knowing but eventually wakening from the consciousness of sleep. Initiation was part of the narrative because this is also part of the Gurdjieff philosophy that is a theme in Strieber’s books because he keeps mentioning the philosophy. He stated, “I began this search by assuming that I was dealing either with a mental aberration or a visit from another planet”(Strieber 223). This statement in his book, Communion, posed the alien question but not an answer but set into motion a paradigm shift. It did not matter if it was an altered state of consciousness, which was the main theme in Castaneda’s works and the basis for Dr. Jacques Vallee’s Passport to Magonia or any other explanation because the die had been cast for alien abduction. Strieber followed up with four more books on the unproven subject with Transformation, Breakthrough, The Secret School and Confirmation, while still playing out the ploy of indecision of the reality in the experience. By stating in his books that he had come from a strong Catholic background he wondered if these entities could be angles in disguise? In 1989 he wrote the novel Majestic that described his feelings on the crash at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. He wrote this book as a novel stating that the information and data he used could possibly put him in danger. He said there were people trying to stop him telling the story. This added fuel to the fire as to the validity of alien visitation on the emerging alien and UFO counter culture by expressing these beings might be angels. Society and culture had been changed with the mainstreaming of the alien subject; Strieber had done something that many had tried for years to do. He had validated the idea that aliens were real and possibly the answer to the angel folktales of the past. He had success with alien-abduction as a theme into popular culture by using the genre of horror as his disguise and linking alien and angel as the same. By using his term the visitors, the characters could be from anywhere, and that no one was immune from their actions, especially him. If it could happen to him it could happen to anyone. This gothic folklore theme goes throughout history with tales of the boogieman that will get you if you don’t watch out and that was Strieber’s hook to pull his readers in and to solidify the new genera.

In 1999 Strieber turned directions again and went back to environmental adventures with The Coming Global Superstorm. This is a gloom and doom story of the environment loosing control and plays on the fears of what is in today’s headlines. This back to the scare awareness technique reeks of agenda. Before publishing this book he wrote The Key, which has become like a bible for the esoteric crowd that follow his every word. This is suppose to be the culmination of his journeys with the visitors by an initiate which he calls “The Master of the Key” and spells out the trials that he has gone through and the answers that will come to all in the future. It tells of the upcoming evolution of man and the planet; shades of Phillip K. Dick and L. Ron Hubbard.

So what has Whitely Strieber done? He has changed the collective consciousness of the planet with his tales of alien abduction. He has scared us with tales of witches and vampires that he says in reality are a connection to his visitors. He has brought attention to issues of global warming and nuclear holocaust using the genre of horror but agenda seems to be the main reason. In all his works dealing with the visitors he brings to the reader that he is the chosen one. He is the one chosen to speak for humanity and the one that will gain all the answers. But one thing that has to be remembered is the fact that it is all fiction because that is what he writes and is extremely talented at his craft. When reading Strieber, keep an open mind, but not too open to have your brains fall out and also remember there might be a hidden agenda going on and it has nothing to do with aliens or angels but the ability to scare.