It's not personal (apparently)

This morning I had the pleasure of catching up with ladies from the book club the U3A runs in Daylesford (Victoria). We moved from Daylesford three and a half years ago, back to Melbourne, for several reasons, and I dropped out of the book club. It was great to see everyone again. I hadn’t read the book the group discussed but listened intently to the discussion. The book they read : The Porcelain Thief by Huan Hsu seemed to have an interesting premise. However, what interested me was the different perspectives and opinions people had of the book. Before being a published author I wouldn’t have thought twice about people’s different opinions – it’s what book clubs are about. But today was different.

Of the ten people in the group, four of them didn’t finish it: they decided life was too short to spend time reading something they didn’t enjoy. Of the other six, four enjoyed it because they’d visited China and could relate to the story. The remaining two said it was an okay read and they finished it.

So the other day when I found a review on Amazon and Goodreads (same review) from someone not enamoured with my first book (but giving it four stars) and not finishing my second book, I was disheartened, shattered even. I know, don’t take these things personally, everyone is different. 

Today made it easier to come to terms with that.

Book review Clarissa's Warning by Isobel Blackthorn. 5 stars. Highly recommended.

You know the feeling when you’re reading a book and as you’re dropping off to sleep, or going about your daytime activities, you think about the characters and what they’ve been up to? That’s what Clarissa’s Warning by Isobel Blackthorn had me doing. I only put it down because I started reading it at a busy time. When the busyness subsided I finished the last half of the book in one sitting.
Isobel Blackthorn has an amazing ability to draw the scenery around her characters with such precision you can feel the wind, the warmth of the sun and admire the geological surrounds.
Blackthorn’s main protagonist, Claire Bennett is a normal woman placed in an abnormal situation that takes her months to come to terms with. Blackthorn weaves the everyday life of people living on the Canary Islands through Claire’s interactions with them. The cafes she eats at, the museums she visits, the beaches where she swims, all draw the reader in to life on these islands.

Claire’s refusal to initially heed her Aunt Clarissa’s warning almost ends in tragedy. Almost. I was exceptionally thrilled with the ending.

I’ve read two other books by this author, and this is the one I enjoyed the most. Every character, every meal eaten, every event, carried the story forward and served a purpose.

Oh, and Paco is a bit of a hunk.

Click here to purchase. :)
http://mybook.to/ClarissaWarning

No writing today

The third term in Victoria started today and the kids have all gone back to school. Our four granddaughters kept us busy over the school holidays, but apart from not getting time to write much, I absolutely adore having them all (not all for at once for more than a day, though 😊). 

No writing today, just making time for a quick update, then at 2.30 leaving to pick up two from school.

Teddy comes with me to collect the girls from school. He sits on my lap in the car while I read, and when he hears the bell marking the end of the day, he dances around in the car crying until I put on his lead and we get out to wait for Audrey and Paige. He knows them from all the other kids in the same uniform, and jumps around excitedly when they finally walk out the gate. And I mean FINALLY. They are always among the last to make an appearance. Paige is a bit quicker – anxious to see Teddy - but Audrey meanders out with her mates, chatting away.

Perhaps I can put some of Teddy’s enthusiasm and my “patience” into one of the scenes in my work in progress!

No Room for Regret

Ordinary, every day

After a number of days looking after grandchildren (school holidays) whom I adore, I've found some time this afternoon to work on my prequel.

In the middle of writing the scene where James Bryan Cullen makes his first romantic gesture toward Elizabeth Bartlett, the washing machine started beeping that its load was finished. It very kindly beeps every ten seconds or so for many, many (it seems) minutes. The beeps - according to my imagination - get louder and more aggressive the longer they are ignored.

So that is what my life is as an author: writing romance scenes while the washing machine demands I notice it, and the rest of the household chores queue up for attention. :)