Starting to read a new novel is like beginning an affair

 Starting a new novel is like beginning an affair. You are intrigued in the opening stages and - hopefully - want to continue to see where it leads. For someone like me who reads novels that I enjoyed in the past over and over again, it can be daunting. At least when I open my Jane Austen novels I know what to expect and practically know the whole thing by heart from start to finish. It is like visiting old friends, or let's say, it is like a satisfying relationship where both parties know what to expect from each other.

Untravelled terrain, i.e. a new novel or a new romance, is trickier. You are lured into the early stages by the skill of the author or the skill of the new romantic interest. Initially, you find it exciting (well for novels, sort of, if you know what I mean) and it takes a while for it to become routine. Sadly, I could count the number of novels on the fingers of my left hand which have made me sit up late into the night to find out what happened. When you are an author yourself you recognize some of the tricks of the trade. That's fine provided they work and don't irritate. I'm not going to elaborate on that aspect of writing. Now, with the beginning of a romance, you just melt into it. Later on things can start to irritate you. It then depends what else is going on in the relationship - a bit like the plot of a novel. I always give any new novel three chapters to keep me interested. You could say the same for dating that fabulous hunk you met at that party. He was such fun and made you laugh but a few weeks later you think maybe you just found him so entertaining because you were a bit tipsy at that party and have been assuming that he's so much fun instead of experiencing it. In other words, he's not really genuinely like that. Not your type. 

Of course it's easier to put the novel away or give the novel away and move on to the next one. In the dating process, it takes a while to come to a decision "yes, he's nice but not really my type"  and you usually won't have the next date standing there waiting for you.

So maybe stick to reading novels? No? I thought not. Better go out and have some fun and still keep on dating and reading!

Meanwhile, here's the link to my latest Christmas novel A Happy Christmas at Fernwood Cottages by Peggy O'Mahony: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYLNZKP5