Ahhh... a moment of quiet devoted to my love of the written word

Don't you just love those glorious moments when you are left alone for a few sweet minutes? I have an hour to myself. 2 children in school, 1 napping and my now work-at-home husband off to a meeting. This is a rare moment and I treasure it.

I have always been fond of solitude. I believe that is probably the case for most avid readers and writers. We need time alone to dive deep into the pages of a book or to let our creativity start to flow so the words flow from our heads down to our fingertips. I love to get lost in those places. I've written more than I've read in recent months. When I have read it's been to my children, though with my oldest edging closer to 6, I've stepped up our library a bit. We have read the first three books in the Chronicles of Narnia and just finished one of my childhood favorites, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This book could have waited a couple more years, but I'm trying to develop within her a desire to be a reader. She loves books, but she loves them when I'm reading them and doesn't have much of a drive to learn to read herself. She is learning, she's just not ambitious about it. I want her to have a passion for reading. To teach her that there is real magic in the world and it can be found in books. She's lamenting lately how there is no such place as an "enchanted forest" and that magic, mermaids and unicorns aren't real. As she moves from that magical place of childhood where everything make-believe is believable to that place in older childhood where they begin to differentiate between fantasy and reality, I want her to know how to get back! I get there through books.

I'm not sure what "big" book I'll read with her next, but I will be taking the time out of my very busy schedule to immerse myself in one soon! This month the final (I think it's the final) book in the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel comes out! I've been reading this series for 16 years now!! Some have been reading it for more than 30. I usually reread the entire series each time another book comes out, but sadly I don't have the time right now. I'm so excited about this one!!

It's been lovely writing to you. I thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement to keep blogging. I will. This morning has reminded me how much I love it! I am busy with the wine world these days, but my heart and soul is that of a writer.