Tour guide

 

A few weeks ago, my sister and a cousin came to stay in our holiday home. We had all been looking forward to it and kept an anxious eye on the weather forecast. As it was, we managed to avoid most of the promised rain, which was great.

It was lovely to spend time with them, even though my sister mentioned selling some of the books I had read already... I managed to forgive her, just... we have very different hobbies and tastes, but I do enjoy showing people around the area. Where we live is so beautiful and there are so many interesting things to see and do, it doesn’t matter what someone’s taste is. We avoided bookshops, as my sister likes reading, a little, but not in English. We did visit every single charity shop we could spot, and we spotted a lot...

I love driving, so we went to visit some of the Cotswold villages, stopping to take pictures and we even went to the seaside in Wales, via Tintern Abbey. Both my sister and I love action-packed days as there are other moments to crash and recover.

The best part about being a tour guide is the food...

I was longingly looking at a book I’m reading at the moment. It’s from the States, a romantic suspenseone, with the emphasis more on the suspense bit. Those books are deliciously predictable. None of thevery main characters will die, they’ll get together near the end, the baddies will be dealt with and all along the way there are things to look at and think about. There is a lot of tension, making you wonder how they’ll ever sort out their problems, and then there is the scenery.

It’s like spending a day as a tourist, or even a quick evening tour. Instead of worrying about parking spaces, tearooms that will be suitable, and plenty of ice cream; you simply wander through unknown towns, cringing along with the victims and grinning up at the hero in admiration.

Writing a book is like being a tour guide. Having taken scores of Dutch around the area for years, I still enjoy showing guests around. As I said, people’s interests vary, so you have to change the kind of tour you give. Like writing in a different genre, really. It’s showing the beauty, the struggles, the different ways to enjoy life and where the best coffee is. It’s seeing a character struggle and you get to guide them through that, and out the other end. Or maybe you’ll have to deal with them in another way... (I’m plotting a few murder mysteries, so some characters are going to be relieved that they’re fictional!).

It’s sharing the Good News as well, whether it’s in real life with visitors, or in your stories. Maybe it’s openly and directly, or by using certain characters and their worldviews. It’s also nice to spend time with the people you’re showing around, whether it’s through the Cotswolds or in a book. So just a reminder to enjoy the tour guide moments or simply eat cake with your guests. Even if they’re only guests on paper, your cake will taste the same. And there are blessings and wonderful moments to be had as well when spending time with others.

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released in 2021, followed by stand-alone novel Burrowed, released in 2022. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.