I collected the first printed copy of my first book (note the optimism – having rekindled my enjoyment of writing there could be more!) a few days ago. I took a taxi from Milton Keynes station to Puxley and went via Lightning Source (print on demand) to collect the final proof. Ridiculous as it sounds I was close to tears (of happiness, fortunately, the print quality was excellent) when I showed it to the taxi driver – they must be used to the occasional emotional passenger.
All my life I have loved books and admired those who wrote them. Books contain all the knowledge of the world. Books have taught me, inspired me, moved me and amused me. And now I’ve written one of my own. It isn’t a great book, it isn’t a meaningful book but I know that it is a book which will interest some people and that if I hadn’t written it the content which is of interest would with my eventual death have disappeared from the knowledge of the world.
I will be getting a bulk shipment from the printers Lightning Source on Monday, which I will be selling, or at least offering for sale, at the Buckingham Literary Festival where I will be in a side-tent for ‘local authors’ on Saturday. Then I will really feel like an author even though I don’t have the skills to write fiction and create that magic which transports the reader to other places.
Then I will start in earnest on the next bit of my autobiography, which will probably be a memoir of my relationship with The Turks and Caicos Islands. No title yet, but Laughter in Paradise could be a runner.
In the meantime while I have been concentrating on the production of my memoir I have missed writing. I have tried, and will continue to try, Twitter but find the minimal-ness of the writing a great constraint so have resolved to blog more.