Cass Adams is crazy and everyone in Deacon, Kansas, knows it. But when her good-for-nothing husband, Roland, goes missing, no one suspects that Cass buried him in their unfinished koi pond. Cass gets arrested on the banks of the Spring River for dumping his corpse after heavy rain partially unearths it. The police chief wants a quick verdict—he’s running for sheriff and has no time for crazy talk. But like Roland’s corpse, secrets start to surface, and they bring more to light than anybody expected. Everyone in Cass’s life thinks they know her—her psychic grandmother, her promiscuous ex-best friend, her worm-farming brother-in-law, and maybe even her local ghost. But after years of separate silences, no one knows the whole truth. Except Roland. And he’s not talking.
Do
what you love and the money will follow. I’m not
sure who should be credited with this advice, but I’ve heard variations of it
my entire life. Do what you love, do what you love, do what you love--- and had
I understood that in my early twenties, my life would certainly be different
today. However, I was born hard headed, and my idea of ‘doing what I love’
included chasing the money. I always thought if I had a job that paid me a huge
salary, the money would allow me the flexibility to be happy, and I would love
the job because it gave me that freedom.
It doesn’t always work that way. I have always wanted to write, talk about
books all day, and dream up stories all night. But where is the paycheck in
that? Of course, there are those writers who hit that overnight bestseller and
all their dreams come true. They are few and far between, and I knew that in my
early twenties. No, the best thing to do was to get a good job and write in my
spare time. Ideal, right? Get the paycheck by day and do what I love on the
weekends, however, I neglected to factor in one very important component: Life.
Earning a paycheck is the priority if you
look at life from that point of view. Then comes love, then comes marriage,
then comes Kelly with a baby carriage, and all that ‘spare time’ available for
writing is lost to responsibilities. Of course, I love being a mother, but even
to do that in a way I thought ‘appropriate’ required a steady paycheck.
In my forties, when my two sons were
teenagers, I found myself telling them "do what you love in life, the
money will follow." But how could I, the money chaser, offer those words
of wisdom? I decided if I was going to preach, I had better throw something in
the plate. So I started writing seriously, finally, for the first time in my
life.
A decade later, I have a job as a
university Instructor. I talk about books and writing all day and explore my
dreams on paper at night. I recently published my first novel and am working on
the next. I don’t make the kind of money I used to, but I am happy, because I
am finally doing what I love.
And that makes
me rich.
Kelly Stone Gamble
# # #
About the Author
Kelly Stone Gamble lives in a hunting
lodge in Idabel, Oklahoma, and spends way too much time looking for Bigfoot and
the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, both of which are said to reside in her 1,800 acre
backyard. When she isn't writing, trying to keep her dog from befriending a
skunk, or shooting various wildlife (camera shooting, that is), she teaches
Communications, Humanities and English to students at Southeastern Oklahoma
State University. Find out more at her website:
www.kstonegamble.com and find her on Twitter:
@KellySGamble and Facebook.
Lovely perspective, Kelly. I've come to writing later in life too and can't believe how much joy it brings. As for the paycheque ... still working on that aspect.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I really am happier than I've ever been. Sure, I'm broke most of the time, but there is a certain peace that comes with doing what you love.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Kelly, you are the bomb. Love you.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, KSG!
ReplyDelete