Iain Kelly

He pondered the email on his screen.

His initial outrage had prompted him to write a thunderous reply, filled with ill-tempered language and dismissive ire. How dare they criticise his work? Who did they think they were?

‘Just ignore it,’ his agent always told him. ‘You don’t need to prove anything. Your a bestseller. Who cares what they think?’

He re-read the email and calmed down. As he read though, the doubts entered his mind. They actually made some  good points. That plot twist didn’t make any sense. Maybe they were right. The book was rubbish. His entire career was luck. He was a complete fraud.

He stopped himself. Enough of that sort of thinking. You’re a success. A literary star. They are entitled to their opinion. Don’t let it bother you.

How to respond? Should he take each point and offer a rebuttal? Or provide a general defence? But who has time for such contemptuous nit-picking. The cursor blinked at him.

He shrugged and typed:

‘Dear Sir,
‘Thank you for purchasing my latest novel and taking the time to write to me. I have exciting plans for the next book, and hope you are looking forward to reading it.
‘Kind Regards.’

He congratulated himself on rising above the criticism and returned to his writing.

Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Al Forbes. For more details visit HERE.

To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

This month I participated in the A TO Z CHALLENGE 2017 – a post each day based on the letters of the alphabet and theme. You can read my final story, a crime thriller HERE.