I had a message today from the mother of Luke Bitmead, the Legend Press novelist who died tragically young. 13th May is his birthday, and she would like to encourage people to visit his site in the days leading up to the 13th, in the hope of getting more than 13,000 visitors overall. Please check out the site, www.lukebitmead.com. If you can, please also consider supporting the Memorial Fund. It’s a good cause, as it works to create something positive out of the tragedy of Luke’s death, both by sponsoring a contest for up-and-coming writers (winning the prize was how I got On the Holloway Road published) and by working to improve mental health care and understanding. Winning the prize and having my novel published changed my life in so many ways, and I know the same is true of last year’s winner Ruth Dugdall and will soon be true for the latest winner Sophie Duffy (whose novel comes out soon). I’m grateful to Luke’s family for their amazing determination and kindness, and encourage you to visit the website. There’s always something good to read – in the latest post, for example, is this beautiful quote from Jacques Decour, a French intellectual shot by the Nazis in 1942 at the age of 32.

“Now each of us is preparing to die … This is truly the moment to remember love. Did we love enough? Did we spend hours a day marveling at other people, being happy together, feeling the value of contact? Did we know how to devote ourselves to tenderness? Because there is nothing else”.

Read more posts about Luke Bitmead.