A Gift from John Grisham

Recently I really got stuck on a writing project. I thought, I paced, I waved my arms at the blank canvas of my computer screen, I bit my nails. Nothing. Just me and the darkness. I was stuck, stranded in limbo. After a day in the dark I was afraid to go forward. There might be a cliff, a wombat, or even worse an editor out there for all I knew. I mean come on, it was really dark and I was scared and hungry sitting there cradling my meager story ideas in my lap.

Eventually I gathered enough courage to slink away to the kitchen for a tuna sandwich, leaving the story to fend for itself, because I'm a heartless bastard. And that's the way the story would have ended, except for John Grisham.

Strange as it seems, the man of 100 million book sales clicked on friends on my Goodreads account. I know because the website sent me an email, I looked to confirm this happenstance, and there was a great quote from him:

"Don't compromise yourself - you're all you have." — John Grisham

Now not even in my fevered mind did I think he was sitting at home in front of a roaring fire reading  Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling, but still, I was happy, and suddenly inspired. And, I wanted to pass that along to another author. So, I chose a not-yet-proven but fun-to-read writer and bought a dozen of their eBooks on Kindle and passed them on as gifts, to friends via email. Really, you could do a lot worse for a present these days than a book that can be read anywhere.

If you buy those gifts on Amazon, your friends can read from any Kindle reader, the device itself, or a web app on a computer or even a Smart phone. And, it's win-win. Your friends get a good book, and the author gets the thrill of seeing some extra book sales and makes some royalty bucks before Christmas. You can pass on a little inspiration and kindness. And, if you happen to see Mr. Grisham, tell him thanks for me.

Those thanks are heartfelt, because his little mouse click, that tiny act of kindness, inspired me to get that last story, a chapter of my novel, actually, back into play, and now it's nestled between chapters 11 and 13, safe and sound and no longer alone. A random act of kindness can go a long way!

Thanks for reading - Al W Moe