Since moving back to San Francisco, I’ve begun to reconnect with friends and family, some of whom I’ve seen or corresponded with on
the rarest of occasions. Yet, it amazes me how simple and comfortable some conversations can be, despite the distance of time and place. One of my closest friends in Wales is the person I see least often. The same seems to be true of a few friends here. Perhaps, I should see many more people less often! Does absence truly make the heart grow fonder?
Earlier this month, DR and I spent nearly three hours with one of my former professors and his wife. When we left, DR thought we had been with them for only one and half hours – a true testimonial to the ease of the conversation. Although none of us could remember the last time we had seen each other, we talked as though we had spoken the day before, without awkward silences or scouring brain-content for topic material.
This professor has been a friend, supporter and ally from my first years at the university. He is a literary scholar and academic. And so it was with some (slight) hesitation I discussed my forthcoming debut novel with him. In fact, my own literary and academic background have proved to be one of the most daunting hurdles to my writing. In the forefront of my mind, the question “What will people think?” does more damage to my confidence than any other source or opinion.
So, when the subject came up, I caught my breath and announced, “It’s a contemporary romance.” Will that be the end of my concern? Probably not, but making that declaration was a moment of supreme confidence. A few more like that and I will be over that hurdle.
Time to find another? I write romance. But wait! What about the two agents and the editor who’ve told me I write women’s lit?