Guest Post: It’s in the Cards by Nicole Galland
Happy Book Birthday to Nicole Galland! Today her latest novel, Godiva, goes on sale and she she has popped in to celebrate by sharing with us how two very important library cards have helped with her work.
Welcome, Nicole and congrats!
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I collect library cards the way some people collect credit cards. I love them – as some people love credit cards – because each one is an affirmation that yes, I deserve access to something of tremendous importance and power. Not financial credit, in this case, but books.
I love all of my library cards, but two have a particularly special place in my heart.
The first was my passport to becoming an author: a 5-year pass to the British Library’s immense stacks.
The second was my passport to writing Godiva: a library card for diminutive Leominster Library, Herefordshire, UK.
In 2002, I had to write a petition to the British Library, explaining why I deserved access to their hallowed collections. I was an unpublished author and an un-produced screenwriter; I had no credentials or clout, except a letter of endorsement by my fantastically loyal manager, Marc Glick. When I received the acceptance notice from the British Library, I was over the moon, as if I’d been accepted into the world’s most exclusive club.
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