My indomitable mother stubbornly clung to independence until her early eighties when an illness scare made her finally feel vulnerable. She sold her house to move into a retirement village in Johannesburg which – to her surprise – she loved. Always gregarious, she had lived quietly and alone for too long and blossomed in the village. Sadly the illness was more serious than anyone had realised and she died early in 2008. Everyone copes with things in their own way – I wrote a private book giving her a proper shot at her new l
ife. The story supplied a generic female friend, a lovely big Scottish flirt safely behind a zimmer, a bitchy gay man from her own opera background for fun (she adored gay men, and they her) and, as a friendship accelerator, a couple of murders to solve. It was soothing for me to place her somewhere she could be telling her hilarious stories and enjoying herself – well, forever.
About a year later I re-read the book and liked it enough (I’m a great fan of my own work) to re-work it a bit and send it to my agent for her opinion. She suggested a script instead – make it a bit more Rosemary & Thyme, she said – but as I knew nothing about scriptwriting I shelved it again. In 2012 – as part of my No Regrets sabbatical – I wrote a version in which the friend is the protagonist and all the characters twenty years younger, and moved it to Scotland, the home of her heart, and where I myself now live. I published on Kindle on 1st January 2013 – one New Year resolution swiftly completed – and found, as all writers do, that publishing isn’t the end of the journey, just the beginning. The learning curve since then has pretty much looped the loop and continues to do so.
I have no idea how many writers write for specific readers. I have a few volunteer readers (a cheer for our long-suffering readers) and find it really helps my perspective to edit it ready for them – one gets a bit lost in plot, have I been clear? One gets enthusiastic about current references, have I included some of those? And so on. First reader, in my head, is my mother, and I have before now blushed and amended something after suddenly realising what her pithy input would have been.
If that has you wondering when I’m going to be locked up, forget I ever said it. Slightly bizarre family project it may be, but I enjoy it very much.
Quite Contrary 
Thanks, Liz, this whole A-Z autobiography thing is perhaps a little bit too much of my past at times. There will be a written quiz …. 🙂
Isn’t it a beautiful, enriching thing to have someone inspire such a spark in your life? I am so happy for you Elizabeth to have had the opportunity to experience that. I had to laugh about the comment of your daughter writing abut you! Thanks for glimpse of your past!
I do NOT know how I missed this – a lovely post thank you and a great tribute to your mother. She sounds so great. I wouldna’ be surprised if my husband’s parents knew yours …
I do write for an ideal reader, especially when it comes to novels.
Thank you for sharing this. My mother died six months ago and I am still trying to find a way through it. I haven’t tried writing about her (or the future she would have had – she way only 46 when she died) perhaps I will try it.
Your post made me cry *hugs* .
Fascinating journey your book had, from conception to fruition. It’s funny the twists and turns our writing makes. Congratulations on getting the story to the point of publishing–I’m still working on that. 🙂
thank you, and I love your A-Z theme – excellent!
If you click into my ‘about’ page the links are there to the books but not of course to the original book about her, which will never be published! Teaching teachers must have its own challenges … hope you cover that in your T blog, if not sooner 🙂
How I loved reading about your mother! And how wonderful that you found a place where she could share her hilarious stories. I picture her still telling them. So how do I find your book on Amazon? Just with your name as author? Thanks so much for your comments on my Language Arts post. I truly, truly loved teaching and still teach . . . only now I teach teachers!
I hope your mother is having a good laugh from the other side! I’d love to immortalise my mother in print, but I think it might be a good idea to do it post humously.
Ha, yes – I don’t think I’d want to read my daughter’s impression of me, tbh!
I think a lot of writers feel as you do. My muse is very real to me and so are the voices of my characters in my head. 🙂
Of course anyone who overheard us out of context would briskly lock us both up ..
Definitely. 😉