I've just got back from a packed weekend taking part in the Felixstowe Book Festival, now celebrating its 14th year.
The sun always seems to shine on these days in June when authors and audience gather at the amazing Harvest House on the clifftop in the seaside town. This time the sun was shining a little too brightly and we were all in danger of wilting slightly in the heat, but it didn't diminish the enthusiasm or excitement as much-loved writers shared their latest work with attentive and appreciative readers.
I had a packed schedule, interviewing three authors yesterday. - Jay Griffiths about 'How Animals Heal Us', debut novelist Helen Bain about 'The Daffodil Days' and the ever popular and wonderfully charismatic Patrick Gale about his latest novel 'Love Lane'.
Today there was a rural theme as I spoke with Richard Negus about 'Words from the Hedge', and Patrick Galbraith on 'Uncommon Ground'.
All the speakers were entertaining, stimulating and inspiring and though they appeared to have produced very different work, I did come away with some common threads.
It was fascinating, for example, to ponder how much animals, and the natural world as a whole contributes to our lives and how much we can learn from it - from the social structure and ethics exhibited by wolves, to the empathy of wood lice!
And how the issues of accessing and managing the British landscape are complex and various, but if we celebrate the birds and wildlife - and the people -who thrive in the countryside, we might be encouraged to seek answers to benefit us all.
How listening to birdsong calms the mind and how a walk by the sea can spark creativity. And how novelists Patrick Gale and Helen Bain both prefer to write with pen and paper rather than sitting in front of a computer or typewriter, as they draft their novels, choosing to craft each sentence more slowly and carefully by hand rather than dashing out paragraphs on a keyboard.
There's always something to ponder after an author event and I find the words spoken stay with me in the subsequent days and weeks, enriching my reading, writing and thinking. But for now I need to prepare for our book group meeting tomorrow evening. I hope to see you there!
Thank you for reading.