Feeling like Sally Field this morning

"You like me, you really like me!"

That's actually a misquote, but it's how the infamous Academy Award acceptance speech by actress Sally Field is remembered. She was parodied for that in comedy routines everywhere, mocked for her gushing, child-like relief in gaining other people's approval. In my book, Spontaneous Combustion, I write that you cannot depend on anyone else for validation of your writing—that has to come from within yourself. Still, I confess to sounding a lot like Sally Field this morning after seeing this review of my book.

Bodach blog review

What a rush of relief and gratitude I felt on reading this! Vijaya is a fellow writer, ICL teacher, and blogger, one who over the years has become a dear friend. She even offered me the honor of working with her on the edit of the manuscript of her YA novel.

But even friendship doesn't guarantee that anyone else will understand your work. I felt the presence of a "great cloud of witnesses" as I wrote this book, almost hearing a host of writers rustling behind my desk as I typed away. They were the ones I wanted to touch, to buoy them up in their moments of doubt, resistance, and despair. But I didn't know if I had succeeded in doing that; Vijaya's review reassures me that I did.

You can't see it, but I've got a huge smile on my face right now.