Why read or write a book in the first place?

If you know me you will know how long writing has been a huge part of my life. If you don't know me and this is the first time you are coming across me, well hello and I am guessing that you fall into the category of being a reader. 

Some people are avid readers, others not. What is it that draws us to delve into the pages of a book? And what is it that drives authors such as myself, with no backing behind them, to devote hours, days, months, years to this craft? 

Clearly I was a reader before I became a writer. But why did I want to read? Why did I want to cycle to the library on a Saturday morning to quietly browse through the shelves? Why did I want to spend my pocket money on books? Why was I fascinated by the vast array of books that filled the shelves, tables, and covered the floor ( literally) of my late uncle's house? 

If you asked me this as a child I would probably have answered something simple along the lines of, "I like reading." 

My adult answer would be very clearly, I delved into those books, devoured them with a passion, because something in my soul knew that there was more to this life than I was being told. 

More than school could give me. 

More than, I have to say the narrow and restricted views of my parents which firmly told me that dreaming was a stupid idea.

I delved into those books because deep down I felt different and I related to so many of the characters. I wanted to BE so many of the characters. They seemed more real to me, and certainly more FUN than the children/ people around me. 

I may point out here that I have autistic/ADHD traits with a dollop of psychic gift thrown in. I didn't FIT. 

So I read. 

And maybe there is the answer as well as to why I have given so much of my time as an adult to writing.

Because I don't feel that I fit. 

And my books certainly do not fit the normal genres in fact one lovely reader described The Wolves That Lie Within as "Beyond definition." 

My stories are off beat and my characters are the oddball/rebels who also do not fit into the patterns of their lives. And how true is that for so many of us. So maybe in asking this question of you, I am actually asking it of myself and discovering the answer even as I write this blog. 

I thought for so long that I was pursuing that goal of becoming a best selling author, of making a lot of money, dare I say it even of becoming famous. But now I know that this is not the case. I read because I am a romantic dreamer at heart. I write because my soul has needed to run free and wild in a way that living in the here and now has not allowed me to do. 

And I hope that the magic I have tried to create in my books, be they the wild romances or the Joe Clovelly series for youngsters, allows the souls of the readers to run freely for a little time whilst lost in the pages. 

Let me know if they do. 

Love Dawn X