Kimberly A. Cook

by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Romance reading and writing are two of my loves; next to family, friends, cats and chocolate. And books and Maui and shoes and beads; you get the picture. The happily ever after ending in a romance novel is a worthwhile and valiant goal for us humans. We want to believe in sharing life with another person who gets us; whether we are weird, quirky, fun, odd or all of the above.

Warriors since time began yearned for the “home-coming” to family, friends and loved ones. Last week in a CNN article, hospice chaplain Kerry Egan wrote about what people talk to her about before they die. Egan said they tell stories about their families and loved ones; not religion, God or dying, but family, friends and love. The moments of life. It’s a pretty darn important goal for all of us to have those stories and experiences.

So on the day dedicated to love and romance, what do we do if we don’t have a partner? We need to think long and hard about who we do have as our “partners” in life. Our writer friends and mentors, our co-workers who support us on a daily basis, our pets who are always there, and welcoming home troops from the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. It’s a great start.

With all that is going on in our world today, we need all the love we can get. So surprise one person today who has supported you and maybe doesn’t get thanked. See what happens when an act of kindness drops unexpected into someone’s day. We all get a surprise happily ever after.

And that, writers and readers alike, is what all of us warriors put it on the line for; our buddies, families, friends, pets and country. Happily ever after is a very good goal.  It can heal our world. Love is a very powerful and splendid thing; pass it on. Happy Valentine’s Day.

by Kimberly A. Cook                    (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

One challenge of being a creative type in the business world is when passion and joy run smack into basic necessities, like needing to eat. This was drilled home by a teacher I was interviewing for the  newspaper in 1984.  “I always tell the other teachers to be nice to the newspaper reporters,” she said. “You’re the only ones who have to have a four-year degree and get paid less than we do.” Too true.

So before digital media, writing didn’t necessarily pan out as a cash cow career. So why do we write? If we are doing it strictly for the money, we will eventually burn out. Writing is hard work. Or good writing is hard work, to be more specific. The option to self publish is switching the control of the publishing game back to authors, but this brings up more challenges.

When we turn a passion into a job, it can lose some or all of the joy. Deadlines, sales figures and screwed up cover art become our new dragons. A survey I read said if anyone is happy with 60 percent of their job, that’s as good as it gets. Bet that means taxes, paying bills and equipment malfunctions drop into everyone’s work life, no matter what they produce.

About 10 years ago I decided it was time for a hobby to balance my day job and my writing business. Experts suggest revisiting what you liked to do as a kid. Writing and reading were big in my life, even at age 10, but making jewelry was also a passion. I reconnected with jewelry making and enjoy it to this day; I’m a beadaholic.

I thought about selling my jewelry, then I sat myself down and had a chat. “Everything cannot be a business,” I told myself. “This is your official hobby.”  I was relieved. I had given myself permission to play, which helps my writing muse. Money can be a demanding mistress if we let her boss us around all the time.

So if our writing passion becomes a business and it doesn’t feel right, change it. Go back to writing for the fun of it. Keep our day jobs. Reduce the stress. Being published is not the holy grail; it is just one of many roads for writers. We all have to do our taxes, pay our bills and fight with the stupid computer upgrade programs; but if we are fighting and dreading our writing, something is wrong. Maybe it’s time we had a chat with ourselves and figured it out. Are we writing for love, money or ourselves?