I’m not going to lie – I published (and will publish again) my book for cash. Considering the only job I’ve had in the last fifteen years is a paper route, what else am I to do? But publishing, and to make cash isn’t why I write. I do that for me and because I can’t not write down the things that are constantly coming into my head. So much of the stuff I see and hear in life, the stuff I feel too, inspires me.

And, of course, the stuff I see other people feel. I’ve wondered why I write romance. I don’t read a lot of it. I’ll often read books about relationships, but I don’t devour Avon’s publications like many do. I think I’ve come up with why I write it though. Psychology and love. Feelings. For me, writing about love is a passion borne of countless fantasies, inspired by some of the greatest love stories ever told. I’ll never write a bodice-ripper, nor anything shallow. I could, but I won’t. Because for me there has to be something deep about a story. Something… something disturbing. Something that will pull on my heartstrings, or make me laugh or cry or cringe. And yeah, sometimes the things I write make me cringe. But I only write them if they are “true.”

In the meantime, there’s the other stuff I do not-for-cash. Being a mother. I think the only reason we stay-at-home moms don’t get paid is because not even the 1% could afford us. Take my today for instance: I’ve dealt with a behaviorally challenged teenager who has beat up the dog, pounded my cell phone on the kitchen table, broken one of his movies, hit me, and then sat on my lap for cuddles when he found out he couldn’t go for a ride on the city bus. I drove the other kid to a movie and back, played “Uno” ’til I was seeing double, and changed a bed because the dog peed on it. And how much money did I make for all this? Same as I have for the last fifteen years.

Nothing.

How much cash do I deserve?

All of it.

Ha!

But then I don’t ask for much.

This humble post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click here to find out more: https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-1316/