Ever finished a book and wished it had never ended?
All the writers I know also happen to love reading books. And the great books we’ve read are our inspiration to write. You know the kind I mean: the ones that you close after the last page with a sigh because that’s the end of a visit spent totally immersed in a time and place.
You’ll have smelled, seen and heard the characters’ voices in your head, and want to return to that world again to hang out with those people, to find out what happens next.
Two months ago I learned that one of my favourite modern authors had died last year! And now there will be no more thrilling adventures with very very rich Stone Barrington.
Favourite characters
I’m a history nerd and mysteries are my favourite genre, you probably have your favourite characters as well.
Some adored characters I’ve lived with through the consummate skill of their authors include: 12th century Welsh Benedictine monk Cadfael; late 19th century Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and her son, Ramses; Navaho police officers Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito; all the members of Lobelia Falls Ontario’s Grub and Stakers Club; the humans, present and past, living among Mrs Murphy’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and last, but not least, J.W.Jackson and his beloved Martha’s Vineyard.
Humbled yet inspired
The ability of truly great writers always leaves me feeling humbled, and yet inspired.
When I finish a book and say out loud, “Damn, that was a good story!” – or flip back to the last few pages to stay in that world just a little bit longer, or think, Hurry up and write the next book I know – that’s the kind of book I’d like to write myself one day.
