I always get such a kick out of the misconceptions people have about the life of a writer. The majority seem to think we dash off our books in our spare time (while wearing feather boas and eating bon bons), then the rest of our time is used up spending the hundreds of thousands of dollars we make. Sigh. Don't I wish . . . .

The truth is, writing is work. A job. Just like the jobs you have. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's rewarding. And sometimes it's just plain hard work. A typical day for me starts at five-fifteen. That's a.m., not p.m. Don't feel sorry for me. I'm a morning person. I like getting up early.

I have my one cup of coffee   while reading the newspaper, then I usually head back to my office and read e-mail (and maybe even answer some). By six-thirty, though, I'm getting ready to go to my local Curves where, along with about a dozen other women, I work out starting at seven when they open. On Saturdays, I sleep an hour later, because Curves doesn't open till eight. After exercise, I head home, have my breakfast (counting carbs, I'm a diabetic), make the bed, feed the squirrels and birds, fill up the bird bath with fresh water, maybe throw in a load of laundry, and by eight-thirty or so, I'm ready to start working.

If all goes well and my muse decides to make an appearance, I might get my quota of new pages written by noon. Then it's time for lunch. Sometimes I watch "Judging Amy" while having my lunch. Other times I play a game of Literati on the Yahoo game site (I'm kind of addicted to Literati, she said sheepishly). Then it's back to work, and I try not to quit until I have written my quota of pages.

What's my quota of pages per day, you ask? Well, it changes constantly. The formula goes like this: take one deadline, count the number of days left until that deadline, divide said number of days into said number of pages left to write, and you have the quota for each day. I generally start out saying I'll write five pages a day, five or sometimes six days a week. By the time the deadline is looming, though, I might be writing 20 pages a day. Like everyone else, I can procrastinate with the best of them and seem to work best when the pressure is on.

I usually take a couple of weeks off between books. That's when I dig out from under the piles of mail, filing, etc. that has accumulated in my office (and everywhere else) during the last two or three weeks before my deadline. No, I don't have a secretary. I am not rich. Only famous New York Times bestselling authors make the kind of money that allows them to hire secretaries, and so far, I'm not one of them. I dream of being one of them, just like I dream about winning the lottery. So see? I'm just like you.

And then there are writers conferences. I have to admit, the conferences can be lots of fun. They are the reward we writers give ourselves for working hard all year. At conferences we not only learn the latest news about our industry, we go to parties, see our editors and agents, and spend lots of fun time with our friends. I especially love the conferences that take place in New York because I love New York and would go every year (maybe even twice a year) if I could afford it.  While I'm there I always see as many Broadway musicals as I can cram in, and that's the most fun of all.

Sandwiched between writing and family obligations, writers do a lot of other things, like speaking to different groups. One of the most fun things I've done the past few years is talk to the fourth graders at the school where two of my grandchildren go/have gone. They study writing in the fourth grade, so they've been an enthusiastic and appreciative group.  I've also been teaching online classes, which I LOVE.  I just love teaching, and teaching writers is especially satisfying.

Writers also appear at autographings. Recently two of my friends from Curves (Donna and Resa) hosted a big autograph party for me, and it was loads of fun.  Here's a picture taken that day.

And whenever I have a spare minute, I read. Reading is my passion, and there never seems to be enough time to read all the books I want to read. As a matter of fact, I have more than 250 books on my "to be read" shelves, and I just keep buying more! My husband says it's a sickness. I say I could be buying diamonds!