Today’s prompt for the #MFRWAuthors 52-Week Blog Challenge is My Biggest Dream in Life. Problem is I have had three big dreams in my life: travel, write books and live near the ocean.
California beach
I got the travel bug honestly, from my father. He, too, had the wanderlust, though he was always content to take driving trips in the US. When I was a kid, we traveled from Pittsburgh down to Miami and back, then out to Nevada to visit my brother who had settled in Las Vegas. When i was 14, we moved to Southern California, and alternated duty trips back to Pittsburgh with road trips around California and other Western states like Arizona. My dad was a big Western fan and loved to search out ghost towns, like Columbia, California. As an adult, I expanded my travels to Mexico, Australia, Canada, the British Isles and Europe, but continued to travel with the USA.
Welcome To Alaska (I’m the one on the right)
The second big dream was to one day be an author and write books. It took a long time, but I finally published. I put my love of history into most of my books, starting with Rogue’s Hostage, set during the French and Indian War in Western Pennsylvania, my home state. Two other works, Lady Elinor’s Escape and How To Woo… A Reluctant Bride, take place in London, and my last historical novel, Lily and the Gambler takes place in Northern California, an area I toured with my husband.
My third big dream was to live near the ocean, which I now do. I’m not sure why the ocean fascinates me, but it did even before I’d seen one up close and personal. Maybe it has something to do with my wanderlust. I do enjoy cruises. My travel and writing dreams haven’t ended, though. There are still lots of places to see and books to write.
What are your big dreams?
Linda
Click on the linky list before for more author’s big dreams.
You are living the dream. I had the same title for mine, almost. 🙂 I love the ocean too, because it is nature in a nutshell–peaceful one day, raging the next, and you can see forever. It is where we come from, so I think it always speaks to us. Good post.
Shari, a good description of why the ocean is so primal.
Sounds like you are living your dreams! That is great. I would love to travel more and the hubs said once the kids were all out of the house, if we have any money left we’ll do some traveling. LOL My hubby would love to live near the ocean one day. That means moving since we are land locked.
PS. On a different note I’ve been playing around with Canva since reading your blog last week. 🙂
Hope you and your hubby get to travel, Meka. So glad you’re exploring Canva.
Great post, Linda! I have to look for How to Woo a Reluctant Bride. I haven’t read that one.
Thanks, Mary. Reluctant Bride is a steamy Victorian novelette.
Congrats to you for being able to live your dreams, Linda. I live in the Great Lake State, so standing on a shoreline here, is almost like standing on the ocean shore, but the waves are smaller, most of the time. 🙂 I’ve stood on the Pacific shoreline, and I can understand how the ocean, or lake in my case, can call out. The waves sound peaceful. I admit going out on a boat on the ocean is a lot different though. Enjoy your dreams.
Mary, I think a lake would be the next best thing to living near the ocean. The waves are peaceful and comforting.
I loved the post- how nice that you’ve gotten to see so much of the world. I, too, am a Western PA gal, & love the ocean, but I’m still planted here. 😉
Oh, but Western PA does have great rivers! And Lake Erie, depending on whether you’re in the Pittsburgh area or further north. I haven’t been back in years but I remember how pretty the scenery was once we got outside Pgh.
Congrats on being able to reach your dreams.
Thanks, Alicia. The writing dream isn’t quite what I hoped it would be, but I got published.
It sounds like you’re doing pretty well achieving your dreams! For a while I lived on an isolated island, 20 feet from the ocean — at high tide. At low tide, the distance was more like 200 feet. Tidal mud flats, you know.
I’d like to know more bout that isolated island. Sometimes that sounds good to me and other times I think it would be too isolated.
I remember road trips when I was a kid. Like you, we traveled across country. We once pulled a trailer from FL to CA and back (3 weeks in a car, with stacks of books around my feet!). I got my wanderlust from my parents, too. I’m glad you’ve been able to attain your dreams!
That was a long trip, from FL to CA and back again. Good thing you had three weeks! I remember lots of trips between CA and Pittsburgh, PA. I always had books with me, too. Guess we were both supposed to be write
When my grandma was alive, I did some of my best writing while watching the tide go in/out on Tampa Bay. My favorite place to watch the sun set:)
That sounds like a lovely memory, Kenzie. We get pretty sunsets out here, too.