Upon completing a novel

No matter how many years you have been writing or how many books you have produced, no matter the successes, the awards you have garnered, the acclaim you have received, each new novel's release is heart-rending. Will people like it? will they consider it trite or badly conceived? will they think it wordy and overbearing, Condescending, silly or even just terrible. These thoughts run around your head as completion of the novel draws near. You will probably have spent a year or more of your life creating and writing this Idea and of course, all the hard work completed; you wish people to like it.

That is where luck first enters the fray. I started writing at school as most do, essay's, biographies, short stories but was doing nothing exemplary and gave it all up instantly when I entered the workplace, apart from writing the occasional (rather bad) poem to impress a girl or two.

In my late thirties, I spent most of my days away from home, stuck in hotels here and there, and for something to do other than sitting in the hotel bar I started writing again. Bad poetry at first then short stories, none of which were very good. I was, However, learning again and not about my work but about writing and my joy of it.

A year or so later I had a short story published in a magazine, a couple of poems as well, much to my (and everyone else's) surprise, then another short story and another.Then something happened that would change my world forever.

For the first time in my life; I fell in love. I left my job, my life changed and I finally had time to write. I was paid for six months garden leave by my employer and so my chance appeared; write the book or forever give up your idea of becoming an author and get on with real life.

I grabbed this possibility with both hands and wrote. My first book was a minor success, my second, not successful at all but I had one thing in my favour and that was that I kept writing. Things went well, I wrote, Badly, I wrote. I just wrote, long and often. Some things worked others did not. I could not figure out why.

Later, I noticed that some books I thought marvelous, hardly stirred others imaginations, others I thought; not so good, were lauded and heaped with praise. Yet there is the rub, the writer may think his novel charming, special, romantic and/or clever but the reader may not see that special something that the writer has.

I think that "The River Girls Torment" novel is special, it is beautiful and unusual, centered around two of the oddest (normal) characters ever created may be the thoughts in your head (or mine).

Your thoughts mean nothing (as do mine), the author loves his work, I always enjoy my books, the public however love some dislike others.

Just your luck.

Anyway, I hope that you like it.