I’ve always turned to books for comfort. It’s not just the stories themselves, but the opportunity to escape for a while, to put down the never-ending list of things that need doing, and settle down to escape into another world.

When life feels messy, stressful, worrying, overwhelming, or just plain hard, there’s a reassurance in knowing that, within the pages, things will unfold and there might be a satisfying resolution. Loose ends will be tied up in a way that real life can never manage.

Sometimes we don’t just turn to books. We hide in them. Books are safer than real life; fictional characters won’t hurt you or let you down. Often the bad guys get their comeuppance, and the ones we’ve been rooting for all along get their happy ending.

Stepping into a story is easier than facing the uncertainty and stress of life.

I’ve often escaped inside the pages of a book and felt better for it. The heroine in my debut novel, The Book Lover’s Bucket List, does it too. She finds sanctuary in books, until she realises her dreams will never come true if she just reads about them, and stays safe and small.

The answer isn’t to give up reading and live more – I couldn’t give up books if I tried, plus reading about the lives and challenges of others is living. Books can inspire us, offer comfort and hope, and reading about characters overcoming obstacles can provide valuable encouragement for our own lives. Stories offer a sense of possibility, the promise of things changing for the better, which spill out into real life. We take our favourite stories and characters with us, even after we close the book or put down the kindle.

For me, writing and publishing The Book Lover’s Bucket List has meant stepping out of the safe, familiar space into something uncertain but exciting.

I’ll always find comfort in books but, maybe sometimes, the most important stories are the ones we have the courage to step into and make a reality.