This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Have you ever been so inspired by an author’s work that you wish you could tell them exactly how much they have impacted your life? In our new series, Literary Love Letters, we will be doing just that – sharing open love letters to inspiring authors. Today, Ivy Lane author Cathy Bramley writes to Sheila Hocken.
Dear Sheila,
It is years since I read your books, Emma and I, and the sequel, Emma VIP, and I think it’s about time that I put pen to paper and tell you how much I loved them and what a huge impact they made (and probably still make) on my life.
Your books, stuffed full of anecdotes about life as a blind person and your wonderful friend, Emma, the chocolate Labrador, gave me an untold number of lightbulb moments.Picture me, a typical teenager sitting in my bedroom totally absorbed in your books, laughing with you and crying uncontrollably throughout.
Teenage girls don’t always have a lot of self-confidence: about their looks, body shape, ability to speak or sometimes even be in a room full of people. But reading about your life, about the obstacles you had to navigate even to perform the simplest of tasks, made me imagine a world of opportunities, where nothing was too difficult to overcome if I set my mind to it. You were an inspiration to me in that you never let your blindness get in the way of achieving your goals.
If she can do it, I thought, so can I, all I need is positivity and perseverance. To this day, this is still my philosophy and it seems to have served me well.
So thank you, Sheila, for your wonderful books and the grit you helped me to develop 30 years ago.
Best wishes,
Cathy Bramley
P.S. When we got a puppy in 2011, we looked around for a puppy training class in our area. Imagine my surprise when you turned out to be the teacher! I didn’t mention any of the above though, as I must admit I was a bit starstruck!
Who would you like to write a literary love letter to?