Why do I write? For the thrill, the mystery and the suspense.
It’s the same reason most of us read –for escape, to meet powerful characters, for a chance to revel in intense emotions and experiences. An opportunity to explore a world where the stakes are high and the moral dilemmas are more grey than black and white.
I’m writing the novel I’d like to be reading.
While writing is something you do alone, you’re never lonely. Protagonists can carry me away, their forceful personalities telling me, even demanding, they take that walk down a darkened street, pry open a locked door or do all the wrong things for the right reasons. That’s the rush (and sometimes agony), trying to keep up and marvel/cringe/cheer at what they’ll do next.
None of this would be worth doing without readers. What do you see in your mind’s eye and what do you feel when you’re deep into a novel? I’d love to know. I imagine who you are, where you live, what your lives are like and when you read. At night, commuting, as a book club member?
The relationship between writer and reader is inextricable. a tough knot to untie. And who wants to? Hearing from you is the proof readers are the magic, the fundamental ingredient that brings a book to life. I couldn’t do any of it without you.
Thea Sutton has a Ph.D in English literature and has worked in marketing and communications while dividing her time between Toronto and Southern California.