It's a few months now since I've mentioned Bhola's Children, my home from home in Bangladesh.  I'm always keen to remind myself that this is really where my writing 'career' really took off. Eight years since it was published I still look at A Blonde Bengali Wife in surprise and have to remind myself I actually wrote a whole book,  and  most importantly, that it started the story of  Bhola's Chiildren.

Imagine examining a new-born baby. You take a long, long look, flick your eyes to the adoring, but probably nervous, mum or dad, pick up their bundle of joy, and say, 'You've a fine, healthy baby here, and it's going to grow up into something special, something you can be proud of, but at this minute...well, it is a bit funny looking.'

It’s true that editing is mostly a case of sitting behind a computer and playing a solitary game of words. However, there are occasional more sociable perks, and - as I said last month, too - none more so than a book launch. 

There’s nothing quite like getting a book published. There’s nothing quite like a great writing group either, and when the two come together, it’s a very special event.

Did I ever mention that I love editing? Some people (apparently) love ironing, and it’s probably for similar reasons: the satisfaction in taking something a bit rough and crumpled and smoothing it out until it’s clean and beautiful. A couple of days ago, someone asked me how I could bear to spend ‘all that time immersed in an author’s creativity whilst using none of your own’?' That’s a very interesting premise, one that’s stayed in my mind, because I think editing – development or structural editing, for sure, and yes, even line editing (honestly) – really is creative. It’s about tuning in to the author’s intentions, the novel’s intention, and creating an end product. An end product that’s often quite different to the original. That aside, it got me thinking about the times I haven’t tuned in very well with potential clients – mercifully  few, and I hope, not at all...