Demonstorm out… emails in
One of the very gratifying things about being an author is the heartfelt emails and messages I receive from readers and fans. Of course by default, I’m unlikely to get too much abuse via website mail so yes, I know it can give a skewed view.
But the fact that people have taken the time to write and say how much they’ve enjoyed something I’ve done is very special and frankly, makes the grind (and it occasionally is that) worthwhile. Never more so than this week. Readers of my last post will have gathered that things don’t necessarily always go smoothly in the writing process. Indeed on Tuesday, I uncovered more significant problems in my latest work that needed addressing and if I’d had a cat, it would have had a bruised backside from the kick. Not because I don’t expect problems but because I didn’t see them sooner, or had chosen not to see them until forced.
It was like looking under stone after stone only to see the rot go deeper… The scale of the issues was such that it was going to take me two days to fix them all and this was at a time when I couldn’t afford that sort of delay.
So, somewhat despondently, I downloaded email before diving in and found two emails from people who had already read Demonstorm. Both had loved it, both had been with me through the entire series, and had taken every blow and enjoyed every triumph in The Raven experience.
Timely messages indeed, reminding me that the setbacks, the irritations, the frustrations and the low moments are all part of this writer’s journey through a novel. And that every single one of them is worth going through. Thank you Jessica and Adrian… your messages were more valuable than you know.