Since I self-published my first romance novel in mid-2014, it's been a crazy, amazing rollercoaster. But it's also been a struggle, at times, to balance having small children (my daughter was two at the time I pressed 'publish', my son four) with work - but who doesn't feel that? And this - writing romance - is my dream job, so I wasn't going to squander the opportunity.
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| How I wrote a heap of books - back then. |
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| How I write a lot of books now, kitchen bench + wine. |
Finding a work/life balance is always tough. I've struggled through school holidays and weekends, feeling intense mum-guilt that I've had to ignore my little people but knowing that it's too good an opportunity not to make the most of it. Also, I love what I do. When I'm not reading romance novels I'm writing them. This isn't just my work, it's my passion, and it absolutely devours me.
But, and I'm about to brag here, I think I've finally nailed it! Three terms into Grade One, and for the first time in forever, I've cleared my desk for the school holidays! I'll have some edits to do, and a little graphic stuff to tinker with, but this can be done at night, once the kids are in bed.
So I have two weeks coming up with my little people and I am going to make the most of it! They're now seven and five, by the way, and some of our favourite things to do together are cook, go on bike rides and swim at the beach, which is only a few minutes from our house.
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| Playground fun |
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| Watching the sun set. |
When you're not reading amazing romance novels, how do you spend your down time? Do you have any holiday rituals that help you unwind?
