I am almost finished with my eighth book entitled ‘The Writer.’ It’s about a woman who must carve her own path while road blocks along the way keep piling up. Before her journey ends she has learned a great deal about herself, under duress, which is how most of us learn best. Straight flat paths seldom strain us in any way. It’s the hard climbs that grow our perseverance and show us how we are capable of so much more than we realized. I haven’t walked in this particular woman’s shoes, but I can relate to her nonetheless. Few people get out of this life without experiencing big emotions like my heroine, Adeline, who must deal with fear and grief, among other mind-altering feelings.

My next novel I have considered calling ‘Rain.’ I haven’t completely decided on the story arc yet, but I like to ponder the possibilities. Perhaps our heroine’s name will be Rain. Maybe she will work in the rainforest before her life falls apart. What if her memory, lost in an accident, returns in bits and pieces every time it rains? I think it would be fascinating to plop a heroine down into a life that isn’t hers. A life she slowly realizes belongs to someone else. Does she share her revelation or never tell anyone how someone else died in that avalanche, specifically, the someone whose life she is now living?

If I am blessed with the opportunity to write a tenth book I am compelled to title it, ‘The People We Lose.’ Despite how ominous that sounds, the goal is to make it uplifting and inspiring. It would be a memoir. In it I would tell stories about people I have lost on my life’s journey, and/or people placed in my life who lost a significant someone that affected me, through them. When I reflect upon the past, name after name comes to mind of all the lives that have touched mine in one way or another and then exited this world, leaving quite a footprint in their wake. An unforgettable impression stamped upon my heart.

Writing is something I have done from a very young age. When not writing I am reading, or editing writing, or teaching novel and memoir writing. You could say that words consume me. My favorite movies revolve around excellent dialogue that is impeccably acted and spoken in a way that affects you. The irony is that most of my music is instrumental, so I can focus on what I’m writing, although I do love lyrics at every other time.

I write because I can’t imagine not penning stories, not recording the movies in my mind, the characters that beg to be known, understood, and cheered for. Isn’t that what we all want? To be known, understood, and cheered for? Perhaps that is the magic of all those books in the world, filled with all those words. Perhaps in the end, it is words more than anything else that connects us to one another. One thing all those books and movies and songs have in common is the ability for us to feel empathy, to know we aren’t alone in our struggles, to uplift and inspire. After all, into every life a little rain must fall, and on a good day, there is nothing quite like singing in it. So here’s to a rainy day… perfect for watching movies, listening to music, and reading books.