In Good Company

You’ve been in love – you know what it’s like.

My creative essay “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” will appear in the next issue of Mount Hope Magazine. As thrilled as I am to be published in this journal, I got even more giddy when I saw that Margot Livesey also had an essay in Mount Hope’s last issue.

Ms. Livesey is the author of seven novels, including The Flight of Gemma Hardy. Gemma, a 1960’s version of Jane Eyre, is an 18-year-old orphan with a passion for math and enough moxie to handle her Mr. Rochester (called Mr. Sinclair in this book), despite their creepy age difference.

I’d read the book during an August heat wave. As I sprawled on the couch with a fan aimed at my legs, Ms. Livesey took me on a trip to the Orkney Islands – where the natives wear Wellies and heat their houses with peat fires – then she flew me over to Iceland, with its bright-colored houses and jagged mountains. While the fan in my living room provided some relief, Ms. Livesey’s artistry was as refreshing as an alpine breeze, and I’d found two more people to love – both the fictional Gemma Hardy and her creator.