Grateful For My ‘Alone Time’

Even after seven years of marriage, my husband still gets very amused by the fact that I can last literally all day not talking to anyone.  You see, he's my opposite.  He loves talking while I love writing.  (If truth be told, he used to get annoyed with me for “not making more effort to talk to more people” but he sees the advantages of it now :-)).

It's true that I can simply shut myself in my office for nine hours straight (sometimes longer) and only come out for short bathroom breaks.  But to say that I don't talk to anyone all day during these times is strictly not true.  When I have these precious days, I spend at least two hours a day, sometimes more, connecting with people on Twitter and Facebook or on the email.  I relish that time of connection with those who have the same interests as I have – reading and writing.

There are times when I do crave to be with people more than anything, but as an introvert and a writer, I need to have my alone time and lots of it.  It's my time for rejuvenation and reflection but mainly my time for creativity.

It's really only when I started writing my first romance novel, Will To Love, that I've really celebrated my introversion and love of alone time.  Before that I felt guilty when I spend too much time by myself.  I'm glad I'm over that guilt.  I love writing and having time alone gives me the opportunity to express myself through my books.

Today, I'm in country New South Wales, Australia with my husband who is on a work-related trip.  I'm looking out our hotel window and I can see the sun shining and the ocean sparkling.  I'm inspired to stay here in our room to enjoy my thoughts and write amidst this backdrop.

So today, I want to give gratitude for my alone time.  I may think I don't get as much of it as I would like, but I'm thankful for whatever I do get.

What about you?  Do you love your alone time?  How much of it do you get and what do you prefer doing when you have time to yourself?

If It Wasn’t For You…

Today, I enjoyed another great spring weather in Sydney.Springtime in Sydney, Australia

I went to visit a very good friend of mine who cooked a delicious, light lunch for us.  Then we went for a nice, leisurely walk around her suburb.

I love days like this.  It refreshes my mind and I get a bit of a break from thinking about my writing and book promotions.  It also makes me appreciate the lifestyle that I live.

I love being an author.  I'm not tied to a particular schedule, I don't have strict “office hours” (although I do need to follow my own schedule for time management purposes) and I can travel anywhere with my husband and still be able to do my work.

It took me a while – years in fact – before I gave myself permission to “try” writing a novel.  I'm glad I finally did.  I'm no longer just trying to do something I thought I would like, I am doing what I love.

Being an author and getting my books known out there takes a lot of time and effort.  But I'd rather be working hard doing what I love than doing something that doesn't inspire me.

So today was a reminder for me to be grateful that I am an author.  It will not always be springtime, the flowers won't always be in bloom, but I'm grateful that through my writing, I have the opportunity to continually give “life” to something that didn't exist before I put them in words.

And I am grateful to you for reading, whether you like what I write or not!  If it wasn't for you reading my books, my blogs, my tweets or my posts, my words would be like a scream that no one heard.