Last night, I was delighted to see the wonderful multi-hyphenate that is
(author of )!As soon as I saw she would be heading to The Yard in Hampshire, you bet that I bought a ticket there and then! Nabbing a seat at the front, I was entranced in the conversation between Emma and interviewer Rebecca Fletcher as they discussed the meaning and myth of ‘success’, as well as her other books – all of which I have devoured and loved.
Set in a cosy tin barn (is how I can best describe it), you could sense how everyone was listening in, nodding and feeling some sort of relation to what Emma was talking about, as she continues to break the taboo of why you shouldn’t always strive for the ‘when in’ moment: it’s about enjoying the journey.
For a year or two now, I think I’ve been good at putting some aspects into practice; not wanting materialistic things, but instead thinking about what makes me happy and fulfilled. I got a little wet-eyed when she touched on this, as well as one woman next to me whom I peered wiping some tears.
Basically, you need to think about:
· What do you want
· Check-in with yourself - regularly
Those small, punchy words were enough for a small breath to escape me.
After a Q&A, the night ended with Emma signing some books and me wordlessly placing a couple of mine before her, before erupting into a breathless mash of saying how much I love Emma’s work, her Substack, how I’m still making my way through my novel(s) and trying to get my confidence back up.
I don’t know whether to cringe or be proud of myself – I managed to meet my favourite crime author TM Logan earlier this year, but Emma’s someone I’ve always wanted to meet! Complete!
The session was inspiring and I had a fat smile plastered on my face as I headed to my car. Even as I drove back, I was ordering Siri to ‘make a note’ so I could get all the ideas that were bouncing around in my head somewhere so I could write about them later.
I love sharing these kinds of experiences with my mini but mighty following (yes, you!). But also, I mainly do it for my Grandma (hi Grandma!).
I’m aware I haven’t posted at least once a month like I aimed to do this year, but hey ho, life happens and I’m cool with that right now.
I can’t wait to pick apart more of the topics from the conversation.
Speak soon xx