Authors Electric

Susan Jane Smith, B.Sc.           Sometimes people have a ‘life script’ that disables them.   An example might be a student who could not tell her tutors about some horrible problems that she was trying to deal with at home.   People seem to think that others will consider them weak when in fact it takes a lot of courage and inner strength to admit that you are struggling with any aspect of life.        The benefit of counselling that I experienced personally and then witnessed hundreds of my clients experience (before I retired) was that once you do tell someone, the old saying tends to kick in “a problem shared is a problem halved”.   Now I agree, if you tell a friend or family member there is a possibility that they might “hold it against” you or tell your “secret” to another.           That is where counselling/psychotherapy is so useful. ...

Since Wattpad is proving to be such a fruitful source of readers, (hits for The Fabulous Dreams of Maggie de Beer are now heading towards a quarter of a million after about four months), I am now in the process of putting up a new book, one chapter at a time, (serialisation worked for Dickens after all ...) The Secrets of the Italian Gardener is set inside the palace of a dictator about to be overthrown in the Arab Spring. The story is told by a ghostwriter who, while inside the palace writing a book for the dictator, meets a wise, elderly Italian gardener who gradually unravels the story of who really holds the power and wealth in the world. He literally discovers "where the bodies are buried". As the rebels draw closer to breaching the palace walls the ghostwriter is also struggling with his own breaking heart and an overwhelming burden of guilt. The inspiration for the story comes from the times I have spent during my ghostwriting career amongs...