Who is coming to dinner when they read your book?

Huh? You say.

Let me expand a little more upon the idea. Have you ever considered that the books we write are like houses?

They are.

The people who read them are the visitors we invite.

But I didn’t invite anyone! You say.

Yes… you did.

That interesting title and cute cover are intended to catch someone’s eye, and then wave them over. Before you know it, they’ve picked up your book, and hopefully, my book and are perusing it. Flipping it over to read the blurb. That’s the open door, the scent of something enticing wafting through it.

Before they know it, before you know it, you have a visitor to you book. 🙂

Now, some may hurry through, not taking the time to appreciate the richness of the story, while others may linger over every room, every chapter. Some may visit often, to savour a deeper glimpse of a theme or glean another gem from its surface.

Some visitors may only ever visit once, but I hope they found their visit rich, thought provoking and most of all, enjoyable.

What sort of houses, ahem, books have you seen lately? Were some shut up, or poorly signposted? Perhaps only frequented by family and friends.

Were they unattractive to look at? Their covers an untidy scrawl, loose pages evident from afar and content uninviting.

Just as we tidy up our own homes in preparation for visitors, so we tidy up our manuscripts for visits from others. Clear the clutter from sentences, any hint of dirt or smut from its pages and make it as interesting and streamlined as possible to read.

Enjoy your visitors. 🙂 I hope they tell many others, so that they too may visit often and delight in the home you have created with all its intrigues, décor, and complex characters.