On literary criticism: "From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter."

"Someday I intend reading it."

I love you, Groucho Marx.

I love Stephanie Meyer too, author of  The Twilight Saga, for saying this: “The thing people don't realise, God bless them, is that my books are supposed to suck.”

Literary criticism. You've got to laugh. Haven't you?

Charles Joseph Travies de Villiers

I really do try to appreciate any sort of criticism and suggestions about my writing. Sending off so much work to prospective publishers at the moment is an exercise in patience, pragmatism and good grace. Believe me, I know publishers receive hundreds of submissions so I am grateful that anyone takes the time. (Grateful, but not pathetically grateful!)

To hear back from anyone is also a wonderful illustration of how reviewing novels is hardly an exact science. Views may be opposite...

Publisher One: Your novel is quirky and different, so much so that I wouldn't know where to place it in the market.

Publisher Two: Your story felt too familiar, not quite different enough.


To me, this is oddly reassuring. To me this means that my work is dividing opinion and surely that's better than not registering on people's interest radar at all? To me, this means that there is hope.

Someone, somewhere will think that it is different,

but not TOO different...