Artichokes and almonds
So here we are – already near the end of the second month of the year! It’s a short month and seems even shorter to me as I was ill at the start of the month and felt so awful that couldn’t even write for a few days!
I’m back on track now, though, and have finished the first draft of the second book in the Kismet series. It’s quite rough and needs a lot of editing but I never imagined I could write a book in six weeks, so I’m quite pleased. I read a great piece of advice a few years ago that said it is better to just get the first draft done; it might not be perfect but you can’t start to edit until you write the book!
This week I have started editing. I know from editing the first book that this will be an extremely variable process and some days I will get through ten thousand words that I am happy with and other days I’ll get stuck on one paragraph, go down lots of rabbit holes and end up deleting more than I write, frustrating sometimes, but all part of the journey!
The first book, The Kismet Pension, has been formatted and is ready to send out to advance readers. I am learning how to post onto my web page (coming soon!), as well as how to use a mailing list system, a site that facilitates delivering the book (or anything else) to readers and another that lets people read the book for free in the hope that they will post reviews, which are really important for getting the book seen on Amazon.
In Turkish folklore, there are three embers, called ‘cemre’ (pronounced jem-ray), that fall to earth and herald the end of winter. The first falls around 20 February and warms the air, the second comes a week later and warms the water and the last comes a week after that and warms the earth. In Ottoman times, poets used to write odes to the cemre! It certainly feels as though spring is just around the corner when you see the trees start to blossom and the wildflowers – anemone, iris and cyclamen – appear in the forest.
People have also started to get ready for the tourist season which usually starts around Easter. The other day I cycled past the boatyard and it was a hive of activity. Most of the boats used for daytrips and coastal cruises are wooden ‘gulets’ and they take a lot of maintaining.
I have read a wide range of books this month and here are a couple….
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. This is the true story of a couple who lost their house and their livelihood and received a terrible diagnosis and set off on a journey – literally. Without experience of long-distance walking, they set off to walk the South West Coast Path, camping wild and budgeting (and eating a lot of noodles!) to make their scarce resources last. It is an amazing and entertaining story. I can’t wait to see the film that has been made of it!
Weyward by Emilia Hart. This is three stories chronicling the lives of three female members of the same family in very different eras. It is a clever look at the problems that have faced women through the ages and the strength they have shown in overcoming them.
Hope you are seeing signs of Spring wherever you are!
Melanie