Trust
Sending my manuscript to someone that I didn't know, on the other side of the world, felt like a leap of faith. What was to stop him claiming it as his own and publishing it? But sometimes, you just have to trust.
Like the time in 2006, when I transferred several thousand pounds of my own and other peoples’ money to an office in Bangalore. I was organising a trip for six of us to travel to India the following year. The trip that had started out as mahseer fishing on the Cauvery, morphed into an adventure that included a spa in Coorg (while the men fished), before travelling by car to Trivandrum via Mysore, Bandipar National Park, Niligri, Coonor, Ooty, Cochin, Kumarakom, and Thekady.
With trepidation I transferred the money for accommodation and transport to an office whose address in Bangalore included phrases like, down the alley and behind the shop... I was understandably a little worried when, after a few days, I had not received any acknowledgement.
When Stuart found himself talking to someone in a call centre in Bangalore—about a telephone, the internet, a bill or something—he asked the person on the end of the line, if they knew of this address. Not only did she know it, but when he explained the situation, she offered to check that the money had arrived!
An acknowledgement—and profuse apologies that we had needed to check—arrived very rapidly. Suffice it to say the trip that ensued was wonderful with many happy memories.
So, my next book, Hidden is having its final proofreading, before typesetting, formatting and generally being made ready for publication. I would like to imagine the words as a mirror image of themselves, made up of tiny metal tiles, inked in preparation for printing on noisy presses but I know that they will be lined up, spelt and spaced correctly on the computer ready for uploading to Amazon and other distributors. I am self publishing but cannot do it without help, there are too many processes that are beyond me. In case you are thinking of doing the same, The Alliance of Independent Authors is extremely helpful with its information and lists of trusted 'suppliers'.
https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org
I have written several pieces about Trust and looking for the link to anecdote called Kindness on my website, I realised that I haven’t added any stories to the site for a long time. I must remedy this.
https://jacquelinejames.co.uk/short-stories/kindness/
A piece of flash fiction of mine will be published in an anthology called Bolts of Fiction, on the 15th June to coincide with UK's National Flash Fiction Day. All profits from the publication will go to: “World Land Trust” (Registered charity No. 1001291).
I’ll keep you updated.
The garden continues to occupy and amaze me with plants that I never could have dreamt of in an ordinary back garden. The rain has encouraged lots of 'weeds' that I can't bear to pull up until they have stopped flowering! Unfortunately, mosquitoes and all sorts of other flying insects are back, so insect repellant has become an essential part of my routine before venturing outside to garden.
And finally, how on earth have I not read this before? Wonderful!
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