Today I want to tell you a story. I am a storyteller, after all. My story today is about a very special pair of shoes.
Years ago, I I fell in love with a pair of boots the moment I saw them, but I knew these boots needed a special occasion. They cost more than I would ordinarily spend on shoes, but they were so beautiful and so very me. I thought about waiting until I had something to celebrate, but I knew by then the boots could be gone, out of stock.
So I bought the boots to keep for the future, and they stayed in the box. I knew exactly what they were waiting for. I knew exactly what I would be celebrating when I wore them for the first time—signing with a literary agent.
It’s time for another Agatha Day! Usually this day falls on the first Wednesday of the month, but I pushed it a day due to the Vice Presidential debate. (On that note, please vote. I’m sure you’ve been seeing that reminder everywhere, but it’s so important. You have a voice. Don’t let anyone muffle it.)
In other news, the weather here in VA has turned beautifully crisp and I’m loving it. And while I love to write in every season, fall is my absolute favorite and seems to stir up extra creativity in me. While spring might be the season that represents new beginnings to most people, for me, it’s fall. And so today I’m sharing a quote that represents the beginning of something incredible for our dear Agatha Christie.
Agatha Said:
“Fired with all this [discussion of detective stories], I said I should like to try my hand at a detective story.
“‘I don’t think you could do it,’ said Madge. ‘They are very difficult to do. I’ve thought about it.’
“‘I should like to try.’
“‘Well, I bet you couldn’t,’ said Madge.
“There the matter rested. It was never a definite bet; we never set out terms — but the words had been said. From that moment I was fired by the determination that I would write a detective story. It didn’t go further than that. I didn’t start to write it then, or plan it out; the seed had been sown. At the back of my mind, where the stories of the books I am going to write take their place long before the germination of the seed occurs, the idea had been planted: some day I would write a detective story.“
Happy March! I hope you’re all staying healthy and enjoying the weather as we move toward spring. This month I’ve chosen a rather illuminating quote about Agatha’s career ambitions in the world of writing.
Agatha Said:
“I personally had no ambition. I knew that I was not very good at anything. Tennis and croquet I used to enjoy playing, but I never played them well. How much more interesting it would be if I could say that I always longed to be a writer, and was determined that someday I would succeed, but, honestly, such an idea never came into my head.”