Forty

Okay, so it looks like a particular dream I had will not be realised. I wanted to be published by the time I turned forty, and as that day is on Saturday, short of a miracle, looks like I'll have to accept that I won't be. However, I'm hoping that as I will be forty for a whole year (age tends to happen like that eh?) I might have a shot at being published when I'm forty. Always good to have goals when one is staring a significant birthday in the face.

I guess the thing I should keep in mind that although I haven't reached my goal yet, I am doing something I never thought I'd actually do. I am writing full time for a start. And I am lucky enough to be working with a fabulous editor who likes what I write. Never thought I'd be doing that when I was younger! And actually, now I think about it, I'm not sure I would have had the tenacity to do what I'm doing now when I was younger either. I might have given up after that first rejection. Certainly I didn't have the time or the discipline like I do now.

Anyway, am inching towards my goal, albeit slowly, and so my new goal is to be published by the time I'm fifty. Ten years should be plenty of time. :-)

In the meantime, for all those of you who have reached this significant milestone already, quick, give me the good stuff about how great it is being forty. And if there's nothing great about it, lie!

BTW, am also blogging at Seven Sassy Sisters on Thursday. It's a random post and I'm not sure what I'm doing yet so if you're interested check it out.

Happy Birthday To Me

Guess what day it is today? Yes, my birthday! And also - brace yourselves because I'm going to tell you how old I am - the last year of my thirties. Which is sad! I have loved the thirties - not the beginning bits because some crappy things happened then - but the last five years have been rather good. Especially the last year.

In fact, this has been a pretty momentous year all round. This time in 2008, I subbed my first ms to Mills and Boon following recieving a compliment slip after the Instant Seduction Contest. I was also feeling annoyed with my library job and wondering if it was at all possible to have a decent career while having a young family. Even working 30 hours a week put huge stresses on our family - my husband has a fairly demanding job and what with me trying to carve out my own career, it was just hell on wheels. And so that's when I thought, dammit, writing has been my dream since I was 12 years old. It's all I've ever wanted to do. So why not take the leap - quit a job that was only frustrating me and write full time. It took me months to do this because giving up a career I'd spent 10 years in wasn't easy. Neither was being dependent on income from my husband. But honestly, it was the best thing I ever did. Not only did it take away the stress involved with managing school hours and school holidays, but it meant I could do what I've wanted to for years. I'm very lucky and my husband is a small god for making it possible.

I also want to thank you all for being such great friends. If I'd never made that leap, I would never have met such a wonderful lot of people. Even though I've never met any of you in real life, I feel like I know you, and that's something I never, ever expected from full-time writing.

Anyway, that's my deep and philosophical thoughts for the day. Tonight we're going out for dinner and in order to NTAI, I am being a complete computer geek and playing the new computer game I've just bought. No writing will be done.

Next year it's going to be the big four oh and I am planning big things. Until then, happy birthday to all you other Geminis out there and let's hope this year is the best ever!