THE BLOGGING LIFE...

This is one of those days when I know I should probably post to my blog, but when I really have little or nothing to say. Before I started my own blog, I never visited other people's blogs. For one thing, I thought most of them were about politics---and the fact is that I'm just not into working myself up over politics. I like to watch the FoxNews channel, but if their news reporters, Bill O'Reilly, Hannity & Colmes, and/or their guests, etc., are telling me things that aggravate me, then I switch to another channel (aren't remote controls wonderful? *g*). This is not to say that I don't care about politics. I do. I've voted in every single presidential election since I was old enough to vote. But I like my life to be peaceful---and politics just isn't a very peaceful topic.

Now, of course, I know there are lots of blogs out there in the Ethernet that aren't about politics. In fact, since becoming one of the regular columnists at Romancing the Blog, I've visited almost all the blogs listed on its homepage. As a result, I've learned a great deal about blogs within the publishing industry and the romance genre, at least. Quite frankly, I'm amazed at how many people post to their blogs every day. I wonder how they find so much to say on a regular basis---and the time to say it all in. I can only conclude that I'm simply not a chatty person (this comes as no big surprise to me, however, since I've known it for years), and that because I'm a slow writer, I'm much stingier about the amount of time I'm willing to devote to my blog. I've never been someone who could crank out ten pages in ten minutes. I often wish I were. But the truth is that although I've tried more than once to learn how to write faster, I just can't seem to manage it.

I'm also amazed at how much ranting seems to go on in blogs. I know that everything from academia to the romance genre has its own brand of politics. But I'm not into working myself up about any of that, either. So that's why you won't see a whole lot of ranting in my own blog. In addition to rants, many blogs contain reams of publishing-industry news and gossip. Where do these particular bloggers get it all? I wonder. Do they spend hours surfing the Internet? I don't have either the inclination or the time for that, either. After dutifully devoting several hours one day to reading all these blogs had to offer, I wound up with a massive migraine from information overload! It made me remember why I like not knowing all this stuff! *g* I've always thought one could drive oneself crazy worrying about best-seller lists, online-bookstore numbers, reviews, rules for writing, whether the bottom was falling out of the market again, etc.

As one of my colleagues has observed, being a recluse does have its advantages! *g* For one thing, without all that information in one's head, one is free to write books from the heart, rather than novels that are designed to try to cash in on the latest trend (which trend, however, has usually passed by the time everyone else gets a book out to try to cash in on it!). For another, by not attempting to keep up with all that information, one has time for other things.

So, when I'm not writing, what do I do instead of immersing myself in information about the publishing industry and the romance genre? Well, among other things, I like to spend time with my husband, John, and my son, Shane, of course. On sunny days, I like to go outside by our fish pond and throw sticks for our dogs (we now have two, having recently acquired an Australian Cattle Dog, in addition to our Long-Haired German Shepherd). The sunshine, fresh air, and mild exercise always clear my mind and make me feel better physically. I also like to putter around in our garden and to bake in our kitchen. I have an entire list, in fact, of simple things I enjoy doing.

No, they probably aren't going to do wonders for my career. But they do wonders for me. :) They are peaceful pleasures that keep me connected to life and the earth---and after some exploration, I have the sense that one could lose one's bearings and wind up lost in the Ethernet....