The first Thursday in March is World Book Day in the UK and Ireland. (It’s celebrated on 23rd April across the rest of the world).
Books have played a huge role in my life ever since I was a wee girl. The childhood dream was to become an author when I grew up and to see my name on the cover of a book. (The growing up bit never happened – that’s bad for you!) It is a dream that I have been fortunate enough to see come true.
I’m an avid reader with wide and varied tastes. Yes – I have been known to buy books just because I liked the cover. (The same philosophy has been applied to choosing wine too- love a good label!)
As an indie author, I am a keen supporter of reading fellow indie authors’ work. As an indie author, I can totally appreciate the hours of blood sweat and tears that go into each book.
So, to honour 25 years of World Book Day, I thought I’d share 25 random book related “facts”-
1- I write all of my first drafts longhand. That’s a lot of notepads and pens!
2- I love a book with a “good” house in it. (My mother shares the same love) The house in several of Anita Shreve’s books is the perfect example.
3- The book I have gifted most often is Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Love it!
4- I introduced my Wee Gran to the delights of reading when she was about 80 years old. She started off reading my Enid Blyton books before graduating to Mills & Boon once my mum got her some library tickets. She loved a good doctor/nurse romance.
5-I read Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg to my kids so often I could recite the whole book from start to finish word perfect. “Each peach pear plum, I spy Tom Thumb……” Precious memories.
6- My aunt introduced me to Dr Seuss by reading me The Cat In The Hat when I was 4 years old, creating a lifelong love of Dr Seuss. (Yes, I even have Dr Seuss Converse)
7-When I was in high school and we were “told” read a book for our exams, I never read any of them until my senior year. Recommend a book to me but please don’t tell me to read one. It doesn’t work! ( For the record I got A’s in my English exams)
8- I was 42 years old when I sat down to start writing the story that evolved into the Silver Lake series and was 44 years old before I found the courage to publish it. It’s never too late to chase down that dream.
9- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien is the best written book I have ever read (in my humble opinion.)
10- The last book that made me cry was It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.
11- I love Paulo Coelho and have read The Alchemist numerous times. My favourite though might be The Devil and Miss Prym.
12- Magic Kingdom For Sale. Sold by Terry Brooks remains one of my favourite fantasy novels. Questor Thews is an under-rated magician!
13- I cried when I held the first proof copy of Stronger Within in my hands. That was the dream come true moment. My name was actually on the cover of a real book!!!!
14- I read every night before I go to sleep.
15- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt is another favourite. Must visit Savannah one of these days.
16- Writing the “blurb” for the back cover is the hardest part of a book to write. (Ask any indie author!)
17- If you hope to earn your fortune from writing books be prepared to be sorely disappointed. Royalties for the vast majority of indie authors would barely cover the cost of a coffee once a month.
18- There are approximately 7500 new books per day published on Amazon’s Kindle platform.
19- When I’m in the mood for a historical novel, my Go To’s are Barbara Erskine, Kate Mosse and Diana Gabaldon.
20- My Silently Watching serialised dark angel fiction started life as a bit of joke, having just finished reading Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni back in July 2014. Almost eight years later and its still going strong.
21- The first Stephen King I read was Firestarter.
22- My mother accidentally introduced me to the more “adult” side of fiction when I was 14. (something she has never lived down LOL) The book in question was Goodbye Janette by Harold Robbins.
23- I don’t have a favourite book – that’s a cruel choice for a book lover! There’s so many favourites!
24- I’ve self-published six books so far (with the love and support of my Infamous Five and my Cavalry) and I’m proud of every word.
25- You can never have too many books 🙂
Happy World Book Day 🙂
Coral McCallum 