Thirty
years. Sounds good, doesn't it? I don’t know what my peers think about being
thirty, but I am totally excited. It’s such a perfect number, isn’t it?
I’ve
committed myself to celebrate my thirty years as best as possible by launching a one month length
blog blast involving authors, interviews, guest posts and books. Yes, books,
because they have signed my life throughout my whole life. From the little coloured
books with images only to Agatha Christie’s masterminds, including The Young Creative Writer's Manual, the poor Gregor of The Metamorphosis, Santiago
This is my
personal list of the thirty things I learnt within thirty years of reading… and
writing.
1- There’s
nothing better than the regular breathing of a dog or cat while reading or
writing.
2- The
preface of a book is pretty important.
3- Books
are never enough. Once you start with them, it’s over. You can’t do without
them.
4- You may
spend some slice of you life without reading at all, for some reasons. It’s
quite common and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
5- Reading
in bed to help you get asleep seriously damage the quality (and the duration)
of your sleep!
6- Vampires
may burn under the sun, but maybe not. They sleep during daylight, but maybe
not. The shine, but maybe not. We create tales and legends: writing a story
allows us to change some aspects of our popular culture.
7- There
are tons and tons and tons of wonderful books which are written by little known
authors or self publishers.
8- Self-publishers are extremely generous and talented. I belong to an awesome authors
group where giving and sharing come before receiving.
9- A book
cover has to be visually striking.
10- Books
inspire meditation: the most interesting characters are usually pretty
introspective.
11- Real
world is cruel and mean. There’s always a happy ending on books, more or less.
12- Whatever
will happen to you, books always open a way out of the reality.
13- Perfect
murders don’t exist. Someone has been sloppy if the murderer gets away with it.
14- Books
can teach you important things which may “get you ready” to face good or bad
situations you may not have faced yet.
15- The
butler never did it. If he did, it mean the book is really awesome.
16- There’s
nothing better for a writer than a new book release as advertisement.
17-
Characters could get out of author’s hand. They often come alive and decide by
themselves.
18- Books
are versatile: if you didn’t enjoy a book you can use it as a doorstop. I am
still working on the versatile use of the ebooks.
19- Books
allow you to buy a title and dedicate it to yourself without looking pathetic. Try
to do the same with a bundle of roses…
20- You can
be anyone thanks to books, even just for one evening: you can be a Greek hero
of a flamenco dancer, or a fisherman.
21-
Technology doesn’t always get better of things. It’s been years that experts
talk about computers taking over books, but it’s not happened yet. There are ebook, but paperbacks are still
here, alive and kicking.
22- Books
are your best friends when spending the whole night with diarrhoea and vomit
and are too scared to get asleep because you’re alone at home and are afraid of
choke on your own vomit (true story).
23- Books
are a great cover when you’re on a train and some creepy guys want to speak
with you. You’ve got a book with you and they go away.
24- Books
taught me how to write.
25- You do
not need to become an insect to be alienated by society.
26- Books
characters are your best friends ever when your real friends dump you.
27- When
your friends talk about their love stories and you haven’t got any partner
since the Medieval era, you can take the cue from the book you’re reading to
join the discussions and keep your social life alive.
28- Books
taught me to be patient.
29- Readers
can lead stories. I miss the great old book games for kids so much that last
Christmas I wrote one for my grandma and my family. Best never ending gift
ever. Every time you read it it’s about a different story.
30- I often
wonder myself, when reading a book or some passages of it, why I did not come
up myself with that idea. Reading push yourself to progress.
STEFANIA
MATTANA is a crime fiction author whose stories and essays have appeared in
numerous publications, websites and anthologies. Her first self-published short
story collection Cutting Right To The Chase, featuring the former Met Police
Detective Chase Williams, was released
in June 2013 to great acclaim. She also blogs for Huffington Post UK, her own DailyPinner and other
webzines.
Book links:
Mailing list: free preview of Cutting Right to
the Chase vol.2 for the subscribers.
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