One of the most enjoyable experiences I have as a writer of a newly published book is hearing from readers. It happened with my first book, A Good Home: I got hundreds of notes and cards from readers.
This time, a new thing happened: readers started emailing me while still reading the book. Bloggers whom I knew and many readers whom I didn’t, wrote as they finished a chapter or part (the book has 3 parts).
I savoured every flower, every memory she described. Then, at the end of her post, came a surprise connection to An Honest House. A smile warmed my soul. I was glad that reading about our farmhouse gardens had triggered Jeanne’s happy memories.
But when – over just 2 days — readers in 3 different countries wrote to praise “all the great food” in An Honest House, I was stunned.
The only great cook in this house is my husband. Could I really have written so much about food? It sent me scurrying to reread my own book.
Eureka! There it was, dozens of mentions:
Food growing and being harvested from the garden.
Food cooking on the stove or fresh-baked from the oven.
Pots of jelly burbling.
And there it was:
The joy of making apple pies, apple crepes and jellies – from our own rare apples.
The delight that comes from knowing that almost every ingredient in a meal has come from one’s own garden.
Family and friends having supper — cooked by our resident chef.
Above 2 photos by Robert Vernon
And, of course, the hilarity that follows my guests’ discovery that I’ve ruined yet another simple dish.
~~
Running gag among family and friends:
Me: Hi there. Will you please come over for supper?
Them: Ah…hmm… who’s doing the cooking?
~~
I learned that sometimes, what you think you are writing and what the reader is getting may be not exactly the same. I knew that I wanted to infuse this (sometimes painful) book with my family’s gratitude and joy in life’s simple pleasures. But it took my readers to tell me how much I’d written about food.
So: ever wanted to write to an author whose book you enjoyed?
Do it. You might tell them something they didn’t know.
So I send flowers on my blog to individuals going through happy times, sad times — or just because.
This time, the flowers are for someone whom many of you may remember: my friend Valerie. With husband Chris, pet dogs, chickens, their beautiful gardens, home and farm — Val graced these pages about 4 times in the last two years, and many more times through her kind comments here.
Val is very ill right now. These flowers are sent to her from bloggers who read about her and from my own family too.
From Gallivanta in New ZealandFrom Cindy Knoke, USAFrom Wendy MacDonald, CanadaFrom Natalie Scarberry, USAFrom Jeni Rankin, ScotlandFrom Amy Grant (and her greyhound Alan), USAFrom Laurie Graves, USAFrom Diane Taylor, CanadaFrom Chris, CanadaFrom Katherine, GibraltarFrom Lavinia and Rick, USAFrom Ann Moser, CanadaFrom Derrick Knight, UKFrom Jason, USAFrom Margaret Mair, CanadaFrom MT McGuire, UKFrom Cynthia, Hamlin and Family
Love and prayers, dear Val and Chris.
I thank you for welcoming my blog community into your home, and above all, thank you for being you.
**Blogger friends: You are welcome to send a flower for Val. I will add it here.
The book I ran away from, repeatedly, is finally published. And now I wait.
Except, several bloggers have done a lot to make the waiting easier. Some sent me wonderful email reviews as they read An Honest House: “I’ve reached (this) part now and I’m loving it!” Or: “I stayed awake till 2 in the morning, reading!” And so on.
That’s a new experience for me, and I appreciate it.
Then, Sally Cronin, a European blogger who has done much to help authors and other bloggers around the world, kindly highlighted An Honest House.
And, from Gibraltar, Katherine, the sharp-eyed editor and tough book reviewer who previewed the book before it went to print, published her review last weekend. Finally, I found out what she thought of the finished product. (I was anxious.)
