Inspirational people surround us at every turn. It might be your mother, sister, friend or colleague, or it might be someone you follow on a social media platform, an actress, or an author. To celebrate some of the incredible women who continue to motivate me, I have decided to post a Monday Muse – a weekly look at the women who are my artistic inspiration.
For my first Monday Muse I wanted to return to my childhood and honour Enid Blyton, but after the recent passing of Harper Lee I felt it would be right and fitting to pay homage to this beautiful lady.
Born in Alabama on the 28th April 1926, Nelle Harper Lee is best known for her prize-winning bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960. She wrote about important topics such as racism and violence, but she also included the sense of hope we all feel by countering the discrimination with a ‘things can get better’ message.
“Things are never as bad as they seem.”
She never expected her novel to be the massive success that it was. It even made the Banned Books list!
How incredible that such a talented writer has only two books to remember her by. Her second novel, Go Set a Watchman was published in 2015 after it was discovered in a lock box, feared lost.
Harper Lee was the youngest of four children, living in the small town of Monroeville. When I read about her early life at home I am overjoyed to see that she was a tomboy, something I can relate to. She also preferred writing over make-up and dating – something else I understand.
As a self-published writer, I find great comfort in Harper Lee’s many quotes, this one being a particular favourite.
“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
Harper Lee, passed away on Friday 19th February 2016, in her sleep.
Shelley Wilson Author 
Reread TKAMB, and watched the film as my local Waterstone’s showed it as part of the launch for Go Set a Watchman. The bits of of Go Set that I loved were the flashbacks to Scout as a child – the best fictional child ever.
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I don’t think she really wrote the second book…..why would she deconstruct what made her only book such a powerful and priceless work? It makes zero sense….
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