Book Reviewers, Etc.

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I thought this was a very entertaining commentary on the way different people respond to books. Amazon reviewers think this masterpiece sucks. I love Ms. Demain's sense of humor as she searches to find at least one book that is immune to terrible reviews. Actually, it reminded me of Lot in the Old Testament trying to find enough good people to keep the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah from being destroyed.

In a last-ditch effort, I decided to see what folks had to say about the Bible. Sure enough, there were a few brave souls who dared to give the word of God only one star!

Man, this book is boring. All this weird stuff happens and it's harder to get into than Lord of the Rings. And what's up with the red writing and the LORD says stuff. All caps = rude, peter paul and mark, whoever the heck you are. And this is just badly written. James Patterson could do better. These apostles need to get a clue and hire a ghost writer. Even Miley Cyrus's manager was smart enough to do that. Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, indeed.

You might want to try this experiment for yourself! But I warn you, you will come away profoundly disheartened and pessimistic about the continued existence of humankind.

Etc.

I think my friend and inspiration Donna Hosie's got it right.

A writer is who I am. I will continue to write until the day I die. First and foremost, I love doing it. It is my creative outlet and passion.

All my life I've had these tales going on in my head, a magical world of my own creation in which to lose myself. I think this other world is one of the things that kept me going when I was a teen and my mother died, or my first husband died leaving me with two small children to raise. Or as I've struggled through the scary health issues of my second husband and the mental health challenges of several of my children.

Epiphany! This must be why I like fiction so much. I have enough nonfiction in my life, thank you very much.

For the first time in my life I'm actually taking this jumbled mass of illusions and turning them into something complete, something concrete. So, if I'm a writer (and I still thrill at the very thought of labeling myself as that), I will write. For myself. It's satisfying when someone reads my work and enjoys it, but I guess first and foremost I must enjoy it.

And I do.

Thanks, Donna H.