>> "Naturally, in the stories I wrote, I kept veering toward the styles I liked to read"
>> "I stopped writing some years ago, since it's clearly not what most readers want"
I too write the kind of stories I like to read, which guarantees there's at least one reader for me. And I never bothered what most readers want :-)
More on that: https://anilsroyal.medium.com/the-unnatural-story-teller-54267e48fcfc