It is, perhaps, a strange thing to do, but I’ve just finished reading the first book I wrote: Shanakan. It’s been over a decade since I wrote it and I did have a reason. I’ve just started writing book five in that series and I wanted to get back into the feel of the characters, the place, the history.
It worked. They came back to life for me.
To be honest, I was worried about the book. I thought it might not live up to its sequels, being the first. I have been reassured by others that it’s fine, but there’s nothing like reading it yourself and now I felt that there was enough distance between us.
I have to admit that I was pleased. There are a few things that I would do differently if I wrote it now, but overall it’s a good tale with good characters and that sense of credibility that I think is so perversely important in fantasy.
In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’ve started reading book two. In a way it’s a personal vindication of why I started writing. I was struggling to find a book that entirely satisfied me, so I thought I’d have a go at writing one.
Now, fifteen books later (twelve on amazon), writing has become one of the great pleasures on my life.