While everybody was out enjoying the wonderful spring sun (it has been extremely warm for this time of the year), I have been indoors writing, writing, writing this last month to make my deadline. After all, I had promised my friend a real manuscript to hand to a publisher. The first part of my book! So I wrote, read and rewrote. And wrote, read and rewrote. And wrote... Anyway, I guess you get the point by now. I have even been too busy to update this blog!
And then... a phone call from my Italian friend. Her mother had passed away, at age 86. Even though I had met her only once, I had a strong feeling of involvement. Despite of her age, she was still a goodlooking, very sophisticated lady. 'Una donna per bene' you would say in Italian. A woman from a good family. Refined. Classy. She is one of the characters in my book. After the news, I wasn't able to write for a day or two. I couldn't 'touch' her character in the book. It felt like I had to let the book rest for a few days, just to honor her. So that's what I did.
But as always... life goes on. Every now and then, I give part of what I have written to a good friend of mine to judge it. She is one of the few people that I can trust in this process on being completely honest with me. She has told me before to rephrase things or to 'sharpen' the story here and there. After a few days she sent me a text message:
'I am deeply impressed with what I have read this time. Please finish the story soon! You can call yourself a writer now.'
Wow, what a pleasant surprise that was! The next challenge is now to find a publisher that shares her opinion... Love, M.
