Living the life of an author...

How does an author live? In a few short weeks I will be a published author. How does an author spend his or her time? Well I'm not sure how a NY Times best selling author lives, though our small mid-coast area of Camden/Rockport can boast of 3 NY Times bestselling authors, who either live here part-time or year round. Authors such as Tess Gerritsen, author of the Rizzoli & Isles series, Richard Russo,a 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner and David McCullough also another winner of The Pulitzer Prize, author of works like "John Adams and 1776". There is also another author who writes mysteries, sells real estate, who just launched her third book. I was fortunate enough to go to her launch party. So to live in this beautiful area which most people know one another, where you see these authors in your local coffee shop or post office. Where in the summer any number of movie stars may be spotted or around Thanksgiving and Christmas one movie star will come home to one of the islands and he will walk on our streets in disguise until the shops keepers/owners spot him. Then they put up the 'closed sign'. Then after the customers clear he can go in and shop and catch up with the local gossip. Now this still doesn't answer how does an author spend his or her time. What are your days like? How do you write? How much time do you spend writing, research, if the book you are working on requires research? Well for me it's not a life or days spent at leisure. I don't have people answering the phone for me. No one does my shopping like they did when I lived in Cambodia. There I did have a maid and cook. Here I am everything... Wife, mother, taxi driver, writer, researcher, Fire Fighter who is finishing up with her Academy for Fire Fighter 1 & 2 this next week. My days start at 5am. I like to get up, have tea and wake up before the boys are up. 6am get the darlings up and ready for school. 7am(ish) start Mom's taxi runs to various schools. 7:30 get back to get breakfast for my youngest and get him on the bus by 8am. Then the day is mine... I divide that time with running/power walking most days so I have to get my butt moving so I can get that done and get back to do cleaning and finish chores then write or if it's now... study. My kids for the last four months have asked me "what are you doing Mom?" My answer for the last four months has been "Study or go to drills or go practice skills or class." I know my youngest two will be glad when this is over... When I am writing it's hard for me to do anything else. I live in that world of my characters , the one I have created. While I have been consumed with classes I have had very little time to write and it has driven me crazy. The only thing I could tell my self , something a dear old friend has told me " This too shall pass..." So I count down the days now till I will finish and then I can organize myself and get back to what I love to do... writing. I don't know about other writers but I find it's hard to talk about what I am writing about. Though I think if one wants to get their books out there and known he or she has to get out there, out of their shell and interact with people and the real world. I find once I start talking about The Kings of Angkor: Army of a Thousand Elephants I can get going and maybe have a hard time shutting up... I really need to get out more... Last night at a Rotary Progressive dinner I was able to talk to quite a few about my book. One was a wife of a world renown diamond designer. My husband who is the member of Rotary has said they want me to give a talk after the book comes out. I said "Fine, wait till I have come back from Cambodia and Angkor Wat." Something I will be doing in June. Then will come the summer and the kids wanting to spend the day swimming at the lake or us working on our sloop or taking our other boat out on the lake. So Summer presents it's challenges for a writer. You have to be stricter with your self, get a time that you know will work... like in the dead of the night or very early in the morning. Just to have that time, anytime will be lovely...