Reading, Writing, Learning

I’ve always been a prolific reader, haunting my local library from a young age, bringing home as many books as they would allow. We couldn’t afford to buy many, apart from the whole set of Encyclopaedia Britannica that I absorbed over several years.

And so it continued, until I began writing my own stories, articles and poetry, eventually getting published. But I’ve never lost my love of learning, partly through reading and partly through continuing study.

When my son and daughter were studying for exams in their teens, I was learning my way through an honours degree in literature and history covering several centuries, then a Masters in Humanities with the Open University. Those were some of the most rewarding years of my life.

Now, I’ve returned to study, albeit for pleasure rather than another degree (although never say never)! I’m half way through the first lesson on Ancient Greek with the OU’s Open Learning. It has eight lessons, each with about a dozen sections, so lots of work ahead. I’m loving it so far, especially with so much of our language having its roots in Greek.

The course is one of many that are free and allows me to fulfil a long-held wish. When at school, I took Latin, French and German but wasn’t allowed to do Greek as it was in the same category as one of the others. I won’t comment on the system of choosing subjects! I’ve always loved Greek mythology (hence my three Aphrodite and Adonis novellas) and have been reading Madeline Miller’s two novels, Circe, and The Song of Achilles, both of which are wonderful stories well written.

I’m continuing writing while I study, of course, and am delighted to have won the final round in the Mum Life Stories competition, with the theme ‘Moving On’. If you would like to read the little story, it’s published on their website – just click on the link then down to the story. I’m also finishing the first draft of my new novel and will have to start going through it all to make proper sense of it now. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, since I’m engrossed in ancient Greek language and mythology, I’ve made my first short Aphrodite and Adonis novella, The Aphrodite Touch, FREE to download over the next five days: 18th to 22nd February.

These are modern romance with a touch of fantasy stories set in the Greek part of Cyprus, with the addition of the mischievous goddess Aphrodite and her beloved Adonis who walk amongst visitors to their island. Each of the three novellas feature a different couple who need help with their love life!

Rosemary