A bright star at a dreary book fair

We had another book fair yesterday, this time at a large mall to celebrate the opening of a library in the mall. Although the event for me was a letdown in terms of book sales, I did have the privilege to meet and chat to the other authors, some new and some old acquaintances which made the day seem less grey.

Linzé's table at the book fair - 8 June 2019

One particular highlight was chatting to the mother of a young writer. The girl, now fifteen, published her first book at age eleven under the guidance of her mother, who is not a writer herself.

What was of particular interest to me was the reason for that first book: bullying. The girl's mother discovered by accident that her daughter was being bullied at school. This had been unknown to her until she read the girl's journal. After taking steps to rectify the bullying, the mother then encouraged the young girl to write a book about bullying. This was the first step, and her third book is presently being edited for publication.

When the young lady joined our conversation, it became clear that this aspiring engineer had big dreams in those shiny brown eyes. While chatting about her history and future plans, I was reminded once again why I love being an indie author - the sharing and support. Usually, this happens in the form of support of a fellow author struggling with some kind of issue. This time, however, it was pure pleasure to dole out advice and support to a young author who knew what she wanted for herself.

As an engineer, writing to me started as an escape from a particularly stressful job, and yet I can no longer see myself not doing it. Twenty-five books later and the bug still bites daily.

Like many other authors in the world, writing is not my primary source of income, and I am perfectly happy with that. I also told this to the young author and her mother - writing does not have to be a job, but our stories are still something that we can share with the world purely because of our love of the written word.

If you too want to discover the powerful impact of journal writing, my latest book Reflect. Grow. Become. is available this month at 75% off. The offer is only available to the first 20 purchases.

Until next time...

💜 Linzé