Everyday Life by Margot Justes

Life seems mundane. You get up, brush your teeth, make
coffee, drink coffee ( a few cups to get started)and generally get ready for
work. After work, you run errands, make dinner, if you have kiddies take care
of their needs and the day is over. You go to bed, get up, and start all over
again. It's hard work.

What does one do to relieve the stress, and provide a form
of necessary escape, albeit it for a brief span of time? I read and write, that
is my escape.

I've raised my kiddies, delight in my grandchildren, but after
I'm done with work, time is essentially my own. I write romance stories, that is my love, escape,
obsession if you will.

Writing allows me to escape the everyday sameness. I can
kill off characters I don't like. I can fall in love with the perfect hero;
he's my creation, therefore he's perfect for me.

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I've finished a story.
A sense of apprehension when I start, and a sense of terror when mid-stream, there
is nowhere to go, and finally a sense of dread I'm on the wrong track. I write-by the seat of my pants-I think-that
is the correct cliché. I get an idea and run with it and see where it takes me.

That to me is the perfect adventure-I don't know where my
characters will wind up. It's a surprise. I like that, and it works for me.

I don't quite get the same sense of nirvana when I read, but
it's a very, very close second. I escape to another world, another period in
time, and I look forward to the happy ending.

I'm reasonably well read, but at this stage in my life I
look to romance and humor for my escape. The perfect get away. There is a reason
romance writing is a multi-billion dollar industry. I'm not alone.

Till next time,
Margot Justes
Hearts & Daggers
A Hotel in Paris
www.mjustes.com