The joys of being an author

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”


― George Orwell

I love writing. I have loved it all of my life. I am doing it at this very moment and it fills me with indescribable joy. So it is with a heavy heart that I find myself agreeing with George Orwell's assessment of writing a novel. It is a process that is incredibly draining and disheartening. When you are in the middle of it there are many times that you wish that you could just turn back.

When the book is finally finished, though, it is all worth it. When you can look at it and know in your heart that it is finished and ready to read there is a relief and gladness that makes everything worth it. I first finished "Sting of the Scorpion" in 1999, what seems like a century ago. It was a good story, ready to read, but I wasn't ready to share it. By the time that I was, the entire world had changed and I had changed. The story had to change with it.

When Sting of the Scorpion comes out this September you will be reading a novel that I have put over a decade of effort into. A quick reader may be able to breeze through it in a single day. Is it worthwhile to put so much energy into work that will only be a passing distraction? Every author in the world would say yes. We do it for the readers far more than we do it for ourselves.