Yesterday was a busy day. Every year at Happy Valley,  Episcopi in Cyprus, the joint UK armed forces hold a huge fair. It is primarily aimed at the families and friends of the serving forces in Cyprus and of course it attracts a large proportion of other visitors that are made up of expatriots, tourists and local Cypriots. All day there is a steady throng of people that are happy to bask in the glorious sunshine and partake of the fun and sights on offer.
I have always advocated that to meet the public and being with them is a great way to get oneself noticed and of course recognised. I love writing and could spend most of the week happily tucked hidden away busy with the next new novel. But, at the end of the day, most of us authors want our works to be read by a body of people. The bigger the group, the more the merrier, it goes without saying that we all want to be successful. We are after all human.

It was interesting to chat with people that I have never met and to find out about their reading likes and dislikes. Some people are easy and ready to talk with and others are more reticent and shy. What is it that folk find so hard, in that they often have to pluck up courage in order to come over and talk to a 'real live published author'? We are no different from the next person. I find the human reaction fascinating and sometimes downright strange, but it all makes it worthwhile when at the end of the day you can sit down with a glass of wine and know that sometimes you do get it right!

Which brings me on to another mystery. When I take the time to listen to readers and what they like in a book it is so often very different from what the bookshops offer as " bestsellers". Why, is this so? Without sounding as if I have sucked the proverbial sour grapes are the public right and the book sellers wrong? If so, how come and how does, the 'International best seller' appear on all nearly all new boooks that are marketed by these big companies?

So, if yesterday was a great day and rounded off the week nicely, the evening was even better. After a quick supper we dropped in to our local bar; named 'The Magic Teapot". It is a very friendly place and run by 2 Brits, Roy and Geraldine. They have to be some of the nicest people I have met and this is reflected in the success of their bar. Last night we were treated to about 3 hours of great guitar playing - all for free. AND to make it even better for me, Geraldine is now unashamedly and officially one of my biggest fans and sells more copies of my books then anyone else ; she is going to give Amazon a run for their money!

Everyone, have a great weekend and enjoy some quality time with a good book.
Regards
Faith

Well, our visitor has left and so there is simply no excuse in not getting back to THE BOOK. It's always nice to see old friends and rellies, but during their visit your time is not your own to do what you want. I also find that most people treat my writing as a 'hobby' and don't understand just what it is that compels an author to write. OK. Maybe it isan't anything like going to an office 5 days a week and sharing your job and views with other workers. But, that's not to say that I (and I'm sure every other author) doesn't put more than 100% into what they're doing. You have to believe in yourself and what you're hoping to achieve. Because of that it can be a very hard graft indeed. Thankfully most of the people I have around me understand - most of the time!

So, I have just finished off another short chapter today and started another. I then found I couldn't concentrate properly so stopped 1/3 of the way through. Maybe not a good place to stop but it's better than making a pile of mistakes and rewriting it all again later on.

This week has whizzed past. Is it an age thing??
I've just completed a tax return - yuk! -my first in years. So many questions and why if you're innocent do you always feel guilty? It's a bit like talking to a policeman/customsman for eg.

On Tuesday we also experienced our first earthquake here in Cyprus. 4.5 on the Richter scale. At first I thought it was a huge earth moving machine on the house they're renovating opposite. When I looked round and saw the Venetian Arch in our snug 'dancing' I thought, ohoh, that's no building work. Scarey but exciting all the same.

A lot of you will know I am amember of Goodreads. An excellent site where readers and authors come together and discuss books and poetry. Up until the end of October I am giving away a few copies of The Crossing. So if any of you still haven't bought it yet (shame on you) then here's your chance to win one. Simply log on to www.goodreads.com/faithmortimer to find my pages. Good luck to you all and have a good weekend.

Happy reading

regards

Faith