What is “Exploring Ideas Through Fiction”? The works of fiction from Long Mountain Books are meant to have a purpose beyond
the telling of their stories, something to say beyond “character”, “plot”, and “narrative”. That “something” is ideas that seek
to challenge the reader’s mindset and values, to make people think about what they believe and why they believe it. These “ideas”
take the form of stories that look at reality from a different perspective and present images as well as the reactions, thoughts,
and opinions of the fictional characters driving the narrative. Those become the “take away” seeking to provoke thought after
the book is returned to the shelf. A reporter in a recent radio interview could not understand how the works of Ayn Rand, such
as “The Fountainhead”, could deeply influence some politicians. “But it’s just fiction,” he said. At least to this one
reporter “fiction” is simply a form of entertainment, to be consumed for pleasure and amusement and not to be taken seriously or affect
how people understand or think. To be clear, none of the works from Long Mountain Books follows Ayn Rand, but all offer ideas
intended to be taken seriously while presenting characters and stories that hopefully readers find enjoyable as well as engaging.