Just good friends: a rant.

Being a writer of children's literary fiction involves...

...well, having other sources of income, quite frankly.

For instance, I get about 6p every time one of my books is borrowed from a British library. I also get paid for school visits and for writing educational and popular children's fiction.

Then there's the other job teaching piano and recorder.

Lastly, there's the lovely ALCS, (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society) which collects up all the tiny fees from things like photocopying for me. It's never a lot, but always very welcome.

The ALCS also produces an on-line magazine, ALCS Review. It interviews important and fascinating people, and is always worth a read.

I don't know the writer Katie Fforde, but she seems a lovely person. I know she helps new writers a lot.

Here she is in the February 2013 ALCS Review, talking about the joy of physical books:

“I treat my books as my friends. They are not to be revered. I want people to take my books into the bath and spill wine on them, and enjoy them. I think it’s a very sensual pleasure."

Hm...on the whole I'm not sure I'm going to be seeking out the lovely Katie to be a bosom buddy.

For one thing, I suspect there'd be quite a queue.

Word To Use Today: sensual. This word comes from the Late Latin word sensualis, from sēnsus, from sentīre, to feel.