I will get around to reviews, bear with me. I was playing golf on Saturday with my college golf society. After the game we returned to Oxford, had a few drinks in the Teddy Hall front quad, then headed off to Vincent’s for dinner. On the way, one of our number asked me about my books. He seemed surprised that I had completed the fourth book, although he said he had enjoyed the first book very much. We had the conversation about how many books I intended to write, why I write, and what I enjoy about it. I do enjoy writing, but there are so many elements to it. I particularly enjoy the research. Then there’s the plotting, weaving a story through the fabric of history. When you write, your characters take on a lot of the work. You drift away into their heads, their time, and their place. There are the points where you get stuck, and there is the editing and re-editing. Musicians enjoy playing, and artists enjoy painting, but of course there is the audience to consider. We don’t write in a vacuum, we hope there will be readers who enjoy our work. Claire and I enjoyed a fabulous organ gala by Paul Bambrough in our village church on Saturday night. You could tell how much he enjoyed playing the pieces, but he enjoyed our applause too. So when I get a good review, that’s immensely rewarding. Someone enjoyed my writing. Good reviews are like applause. Paul played works by eight composers. Amongst them was Jean-Adam Guilain, about whom very little is known. Paul said that we may have been an alias of the court composer Louis Marchand, providing him with an outlet for selling his work. He wouldn’t have been allowed to do that as a court composer. Paul said there is even a theory that he was a spy. How exciting! Maybe I’ll look into him a bit further one day.
Reviews – The Writer’s Reward
