I see that I haven't posted here since I was in New York. I do seem to have been exceptionally occupied since I got back, but I think it's more than that. I don't know what I want to write, and I think that's because I don't know where I am at the moment, in terms of learning to live alone - or perhaps simply how to live. Like Scrooge, I need to change my way.
At the moment I have plenty of things to do, at least during the day, including bits of writing; but I don't have a major piece of writing on hand. People keep asking me what I'm going to write next (now that The Colour of Food is out in print), or worse, what I'm actually writing now, and I have no answer. So I brush them off politely, and go and do the next thing on my list instead.
Almost every day, there's another warm response to the memoir - in a letter, an email, a phone call, or a chance encounter with someone I haven't seen for a while. So I'm getting plenty of encouragement to embark on something.But what? I don't write fiction - I can't make things up, or transform experience into something new. And I don't yet seem to have any coherent idea to build on. I'm toying with the idea of writing pieces on this blog, just to play around with some very vague ideas. In the meantime, I'm hoping to be as happy and as I can over Christmas and New Year, and I hope the same for you too.
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I bough copies of your book for two people, Anne, because I think it will be just right for them.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for a happy Christmas, and a peaceful New Year. I'll think of you on Christmas Day.
Thank you, Deborah, I hope they like it, and very best Christmas wishes to you too.
DeleteI have also given copies to friends since the book came out. I originally got one for myself, as I had bought the electronic version when it first appeared; a friend visiting from Melbourne started reading it while she was here, and was enjoying it so much that I gave it to her to take home. Then I needed to get something for a cousin's 65th birthday; I knew she would love it, and I was right... The third copy I bought this year also became a present, for someone facing a long recovery from an accident. Maybe I'll get to keep the next one!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a happy and enjoyable time over Christmas and New Year, Anne, and may 2015 bring you some inspiring projects to add to your list.
What a lovely comment, Alexia - Ihope you do manage to get one to keep! ( But be quick as I understand stocks are getting low - there may well be a reprint but it will take a while). The radio reading is still to come, Heaven knows when. I had a very good Christmas Day with friends, hope yours was great too.
DeleteHappy New Year to you, Anne.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to tell you how very much I enjoyed your book. I bought it in November and have been working my way through all the recipes because we LOVE them.
Favourites so far are Mish me kos (kos means food in Afrikaans), Esther's gingerbread and Parmigiana di melanzane. Tonight rissoles are on the menu.
Thank you very much for sharing intimate moments of
your life, and recipes. I feel much richer for having read your memoir and I encourage you to write more.
Thrilled to have made contact with you. Have a look at the book's Facebook page, Anne Else Food Memoir - I have used your comment, as discussed!
DeleteDon't hurry to write a new book. Keep blogging and something will emerge naturally, and it will be the right thing. Your blog has already been telling a story of grieving, and the intertwining of two lives. Now it sounds as if it's shifting into another phase. I don't think a book should be written until it's become impossible not to.
ReplyDeleteThank you - yes, you're right. And I certainly am not going to embark on one until I really want to do it, or it would not work.
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