Another of those emails that make it worthwhile.

I got a lovely email the other day that I thought I'd share with you...

"Hi Paul,

I wrote this back in March, off a "write a letter to an author" prompt. Only struck me today you might enjoy reading it. Here we are.

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I love endings. When the pieces are finishing play, the lose ends tying up and the tale twists once more. It's the sens of destination and inevitability as all the strands converge on their way to the curtain call.

The problem with endings is that real life rarely gives you the chance for them. You're often left on an extended hiatus, with a "see ya" or "we'll meet up soon". Or, when those endings do come they're invariably much too soon with too much left unsaid and terribly sad.

It's been a cold winter for tangentially related reasons to the above, so I'm writing with thanks for a source of warmth over the last few months. Last night I finished the last episode of the Nest Cottage Chronicles. When the unconventional narrative structure that is life became a bit too unruly, I could tap into a brand new era of Doctor Who nestled in Hexford that felt like it was just for me.

It could be said that describing something as a comfort listen might be a back handed compliment, but I don't think that's the case here. You have a beautiful use of language and combined with the one and only Tom Baker, with Richard Franklin reliable as ever and Susan Jameson effortlessly becoming the heart over the saga, the fifteen hours became something very special.

For me, they encapsulated the best of stories. It was as if the Doctor himself was relaying a yarn by the fireplace. You're sat in a comfy armchair with a whisky in your hand and a ginger beer in his.

Stories are amongst other things, a comfort. They might show terrible truths and monsters in the world, but the best ones remind us they can be fought. Of course, Doctor Who has been doing that for years, but what Nest Cottage really tells us (read: Me) is that stories themselves are important.

If it's the glimpses of life woven into the villagers of Hexford or the textured historical worlds we drop into, these insights into other people's galaxies stories give us enrich our own and give us a frame of reference when our own narrative seems to lose the plot.

Hence my resolution (three months late) to write more. The truth is, it's been a while and armed with your own Creative Writing Coursework and some dusty ideas, I'm going to start telling my own stories.

Thank you for Nest Cottage. Thank you for reminding me what I love about stories. Thank you for getting me to write again."