My sister is reading my book

My sister is reading my book

My sister says, if I can’t get peace at home, I can go to hers for a few days. A writer’s retreat, she might call it, with time to think during the day and lots of space in which to allow my thoughts to wander without interruptions, and without having to think about school timetables or the soup boiling over in the kitchen… Nice idea. Problem is, life keeps getting in the way, so a more useful way to proceed, is to get up earlier, get organised and get on. Which I am doing.

Meantime, I am very heartened that Martha is reading Susan Scott and, she says, thoroughly enjoying it. She has found one typo – corrected – and pointed out a few small changes that I have taken on board. Very useful. But what is really truly heartening is that she says she stayed up late one night to read it…! A sudden gift to me that makes me realise, “Yes, I must do this, keep going and finish it.”

Book review sites, in particular, pour scorn on reviews by family members, suggesting that they are bound to be partial. It may be a fair assumption to make, but it is not my experience. Be that as it may, I am delighted to accept my sister’s encouragement as a signal that to continue and finish my latest project is worthwhile, and that the time to write is now. How lovely to have that vindication from a woman who is already immensely busy, and who has a rather less saccharine view of the world than I do.

I read women’s fiction because, just occasionally, I need that species of escapism. Martha would not usually delve into women’s fiction, assuming she would find the time to read at all. Further vindication, if I ever needed it, that my writing is worth persisting with. Thank you, Martha.

And thanks to you for reading my blog posts.

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