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| Buy Maggie's Secret Wish HERE |
By
Starla Kaye
I
was catching up on reading some of the 1NS blogs and caught Heather Long’s “BeYourself” and Olivia Starke’s “Starving Authors.” They hit home with me in
different ways and inspired me, I guess. Not that I’m carrying on with their
thoughts, but more getting deeper into mine.
Life
gets so absolutely crazy sometimes that we can’t possibly fit one more thing
into our schedule. At least that is how I feel, especially lately. My terrific
editors would like to see more work from me. My fans ask about sequels. My muse
gets all excited and fills my head with a hundred different story ideas.
Fortunately
I don’t work besides being a full-time author. Still there are community
activities that I’m involved in that take the place of working and can almost
be more demanding. One of my writers’ groups depends on me for leadership in so
many of its projects, since I was a founding member many years ago. Another
writers’ group would like to see me be involved again, if only I had the time.
The seniors at my church seem to live for the monthly newsletter I do for them
and get frustrated when it is occasionally a week late (I’ve been doing it for
18 years now). The cultural arts group I volunteer coordinate at a senior
center would like me to go with them to their numerous outings (I don’t have
their kind of stamina). The center’s director wants me to teach writing classes
and about making art quilts.
And
then there is my family. My BFF/daughter lives halfway across the country and
likes me to come see her at least 3-4 times a year. My older brother in another
state wants me to come see him. Two family reunions (different sides of my
family) want me to join in their events. My sister tries to steal as much of my
time as she can manage for going to gardening workshops, taking an exercise
class with her, spending time together making art quilts, going to watch her
teenagers play in tennis tournaments, and anything else she can come up with.
My husband is really the only one of my family that doesn’t put demands on my
time, especially this time of year. He’s an accountant (CPA) and he’s crazy
busy now, too.
After
listing all of that, I’m terrified, overwhelmed. How can I possibly meet all of
those needs? How can I make everyone happy? Do you ever feel that way?
I
guess what it comes down to is that so popular word today: prioritizing.
Unfortunately, I’m not very good at that. I want to do it all. I want to make
everyone happy. What about me?
Maybe
I just need to fill the bathtub up with a nice steamy bath and lots of bubbles.
Take in a glass of wine and my Kindle. Turn on some background music and tune
out the world. Enjoy a nice long breather…and then emerge hopefully revived and
ready to kick some serious ass, get into high gear again and be Super Woman.
In
my first story with 1 Night Stand, Maggie’s
Secret Wish, Maggie is a busy career woman. She’s struggled with
relationships and is more comfortable with her work and dreaming about her
fantasies. A part of her would like to see her “secret wish” come true, but
she’s certain it won’t ever happen. But Madame Eve has other ideas about that…
I decided to do a CONTEST too. Leave a comment and take a chance on winning a couple of small items to help you relax and get away from life's crazies for a bit. One lucky winner will receive a LITCHI ROSE soap bar and a small 2013 CALENDAR of breathtaking beaches.
ReplyDeleteThere are never enough hours in the day! It makes me think about a book I read called The Gift - by Cecelia Ahern -the guy in that was sort of cloned so he could be at work, be at home, be at dinners etc He thought he'd solved his problem, but of course he hadn't! I wouldn't mind a clone to do the mundane stuff though - cleaning, cooking etc
ReplyDeleteI was just telling my husband this morning that I needed a few more hours in each day or maybe a few more days in each week. But then I doubt that would really help. We would just fill that extra time up with crazy stuff, too.
DeleteI agree, though, that a clone would be nice to do the mundane stuff like cleaning, etc.
Don't worry, I'm the exact same way. I fret about these things all the time. How I managed to keep my head above water is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I have Maggie's Secret Wish. I've been so busy and then had the flu for 10 days that I haven't had a chance to read for weeks. :-( Now I'm playing catch-up on everything!
bicknellbrown @sbcblogal .net
Unfortunately we all lead busy, wild lives. Sometimes I think how nice it would have been to live back in an older time period, less distractions, fewer demands on us. Yet unless you were wealthy, most people had a tremendous amount of things to do every day just to survive. I guess we just need how to figure out how to survive in our time period, in our own exhausting life.
DeleteI agree with Barbara! I need more time. Always! A clone just might be a good idea. All the best, Starla! :)
ReplyDeleteI think my publishers would enjoy having a clone of me (you, any writer) too. If you're selling well, they (and you) want to put out more books. And with being mainly an ebook/online author, we have to put out even more books than an author with an old fashioned paper publisher. We have to keep our names in front of the readers and they want something new all the time. (heavy sigh here)
DeleteI was just thinking tonight about this. I belong to our local Scouts committee and the other committee members are always willing to get up before the sun rises on a Saturday to do fundraisers which last the whole day and I'm skirting around them trying to get out of as many as possible. It made me find quite lazy. But then I got to thinking of my lifestyle and I thought that no-one else knows the burdens that another person has to carry from day to day. We all have different responsibilities and can only carry so much. We're wired differently. I also know that if I want to be a successful writer, that has to take priority over other things. Sometimes I just have to say no even when it makes me look unkind or unhelpful. Thanks for a lovely, timely post!
ReplyDeleteYes, we all have to learn when to say "no" about things. It isn't always easy and we often feel guilty about doing so. At least I do. I still struggle with "no," as if it's a foreign word and I don't understand how to use it.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to announce that Faith is my spur-of-the-moment contest winner.
ReplyDelete