I recently retired from a job I’ve had for almost 20 years. You’ll notice I said a job. Yes, that’s right. It wasn’t a career, or my life’s work, or even my life’s passion. It was, simply stated, a job. One I went to everyday and got paid for.  And I’ll admit – did well.

But it wasn’t what I really wanted to do with my life, how I wanted to spend my days here on earth. No, that job didn’t fulfill me.

So I retired from it. You might ask, how are you going to support yourself now that you have no income accruing every week?

Good question, but irrelevant to this conversation. Suffice it to say, I’m okay. No worries. I won’t be starving in a garret or panhandling any time soon.

What I will be doing – and am doing– is living my dream.

And by living my dream, I mean WRITING.

Instead of devoting myself 8 hours a day to patients and insurance companies, I now am a devotee of my laptop. My “dream” has always been to write without any restrictions on my time or finances.

So, I am actually living my dream. Pretty heady stuff.  I often wonder what would have happened in my life if I’d been able to support my writing lifestyle when I was in my 20’s. Then, I look at the life I lead from twenty up until today and I realize I needed those extra 30 years of life experiences to be the person and writer I now am. I know in my twenties I didn’t have enough life views and occurrences I could have translated into my writing. I knew about life, but hadn’t lived enough of it yet.

In my twenties, my social circle was small; basically friends and family. Once I got into the workforce I was able to include other employees, and supervisors. And still, I don’t think the pool I could cull from was wide enough.

In my thirties I became involved in local businesses and on the fringe of local government…more people with diverse backgrounds were added to my expanding sphere. I learned more in depth knowledge about people, what makes them tick, what drives and motivates them. I also started realizing the very true fact that every person has a distinct and personalized story of their own. Stories that I was now able to incorporate into my writing banks and use for information to invent characters and situations.

In my twenties, love was all encompassing. Every breakup was a disaster emotionally and spiritually. In my thirties, that was still true, but I learned you can be more selective and discover what to chose and what definitely not to chose as far as a life partner went.  Forties were the time for using all that knowledge to ensure a relationship of stability and longevity.

Now, in my fifties, I know my writing is richer, fuller, and tru-er due to all those life experiences, both personal and professional. I can write an emotional scene and know I got it right, because I’ve lived through it and come out on the other side of the emotion. Better, stronger, richer for the experience. It’s a heady feeling.

Yup. I’m living the dream… and it’s a dream come true.

Symphony pianist Moira Cleary comes home after four years of touring, exhausted, sick, and spiritually broken. Emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of someone she trusted has left her gaunt, anxious, and at a crossroads both professionally and personally.

Moira’s best friend, veterinarian Quentin Stapleton, wants nothing more than to help Moira get well. Can his natural healing skills make it possible for her to open her heart again? And can he convince her she’s meant to stay home now with the family that loves her – and with him – forever?

“Remember when your cousin Tiffany got married in the backyard here?”

Confused, Moira nodded.

Quentin rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “When the Reverend told Cole ‘you can kiss your bride,’ and he swooped her off the ground, spun her around and kissed her silly? Remember what you said?” Read the rest of this entry »