This is what Kathleen wrote about my novel The Blue Handbag on Goodreads:
“Fiona has this way of sending me places inside myself that I don’t always want to go. Each of her books that I’ve read have put me in this predicament. Having said this, I am always glad (not necessarily happy) to have traveled there.
Another fine novel. I thank you.”
Another fine novel. I thank you.”
It’s always very odd to hear people talking about my books. I imagine it might be like overhearing people you don’t know talking about your children.
Your children are out there in the world, meeting people, making an impression. You think you know them, but then someone else will tell you something about them that you didn’t know. Some people will be very fond of them, and others will take an instant dislike to them. There’s nothing you can do about that.
The best you can hope for is that some people will see what you see in your children, and love them wholeheartedly, flaws and all.
The best I can hope for is that some people will like my writing style, and that some people will love my characters wholeheartedly as much as I do – flaws and all.
Reviews like Kathleens come along once in a while to remind me that I’m on the right path. I shouldn’t need praise to carry on, but I’m human, and I do. Thank you, Kathleen, for your thank you.
“Sending people to places they don’t want to go, but they’re glad when they’ve got there” – this could be my mission statement. It’s certainly what I do as a therapist and coach. Maybe ‘invite’ rather than ‘send’. I hope my readers feel that I’m right there beside them, as they journey forwards into the unknown. I am there. I am here.
