This week's inspirational story comes from wonderful Indi...
This week's inspirational story comes from wonderful Indie Chick Julia Crane.
Julia CraneMoving to the Middle EastSeparation was normal in my marriage. My husband was in themilitary, and usually gone six months a year. We had adapted quite well to theschedule. Of course, we had the normal period of adjustment when he would return,but that was part of the lifestyle. We were looking forward to his retirement,and being able to spend more time together as a family. That didn't work outquite as we expected. My husband was offered a job in Afghanistanthat would set us up to really retire. The kicker? It would last a year.We thought the sacrifice would be worth it, so off he went. One year became ayear and a half.
While he was gone I took care of our small business,running a gym. I loved it. It was very time-consuming, but it was also veryrewarding. It started to wear on me only when my pre-teen children complainedthat I was always at the gym, and never had time for them. Finally, I told myhusband that it was time for him to come home.
He put in his notice and started a stateside job. Thoughthe new job still required him to be gone for six months of the year, theabsences were in manageable blocks of two weeks. When he was home, he wouldtake care of the gym and I would have time off. It was perfect.
Then he got a call from a friend, with a job offer that wasjust too good to turn down…in Dubai.We discussed it, and decided he should take the job, even though we had a newone-year-old.
Not long after my husband left for Dubai, I was at the breaking point. I felttrapped with the business, our teens, and a one-year-old always needing myattention. I had no personal space, and I'm a person that requires time alone,or else I get cranky.
As luck would have it, the new job offered to bring familymembers over to live in Dubai.My first thought about moving to the Middle East?"Yeah, right." However, I researched Dubaiand was surprised at what I found. The country seemed very modern, and theschools sounded good.
So I told my husband, "Ok, we're coming." While I was bothnervous and excited, I was ready for a change, and moving to the Middle East sounded like just the adventure I needed.
When we got off the plane in October, the hot air hit myface and it felt like I had walked into a sauna. I thought, "Uh oh, what have Iagreed to?" Yes, the heat is hard to handle, but you learn to live your lifearound it. We do most things early in the morning or after the sun sets. It isvery much a nighttime culture. The city is beautiful and the Arabian Sea is breathtaking. I have grown comfortable living here, andeasily call it my home. Though I can now see myself here for a few years, thereare of course many things that I miss about America, and most of them involvefood. Some things are just impossible to find: I've searched high and low for aButterfinger, with no luck.
After a couple of months of enjoying my newfound free time,I eventually started to twiddle my thumbs. I was used to being busy, and withall the free time I needed to find something to fill the void. I saw an articlethat went into detail about how e-books had flung open many doors for writers.I thought that was interesting, and I mentioned it to my husband and he said hehad also seen many articles saying much the same thing. I jokingly said that Iwas going to write a novel. My husband, who believes I can do anything, thoughtit was a great idea. I have always enjoyed writing even though I had notwritten much since having children. As a teen, I used to mail short stories tomagazines and such, and like most avid readers, I always dreamed of somedaywriting a novel. Now I had my chance.
That same night I sat down to write, and the story quicklyformed in my mind. I knew I wanted to write a young adult novel that wouldinvolve my Irish roots. The story just seemed to form itself: I would get ideasat random times and rush to write them down. It was frustrating at times,because I need relative quiet to focus. As you can imagine, with two teens anda two-year-old, finding quiet time is not easy. I wrote most of "Coexist" lateat night when everyone was asleep. It took approximately three months to writethe first draft, while the revision and editing process lasted longer than theinitial writing.
A great part of the writing process for me has beeninteracting with other writers. I have met some amazing people from onlinewriting groups and chat rooms. I learned a great deal in a short amount oftime. I don't think this undertaking would have been nearly as fun without thecommunity I have found. Moving halfway across the world has allowed me to haveboth more time with family, and the ability to pursue a dream I've had since achild.
***
This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25Personal Stories available on Amazonand Barnes& Noble. To read all of the stories, buy your copy today. Also included are sneak peeks into 25 novels! My paranormal romance novel, Coexist: Keegan'sChronicles #1, is one of the novels featured. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for BreastCancer.
Coexist: Keegan'sChronicles #1AmazonUSAmazonUKBarnes& NobleSmashwords
Julia CraneMoving to the Middle EastSeparation was normal in my marriage. My husband was in themilitary, and usually gone six months a year. We had adapted quite well to theschedule. Of course, we had the normal period of adjustment when he would return,but that was part of the lifestyle. We were looking forward to his retirement,and being able to spend more time together as a family. That didn't work outquite as we expected. My husband was offered a job in Afghanistanthat would set us up to really retire. The kicker? It would last a year.We thought the sacrifice would be worth it, so off he went. One year became ayear and a half.While he was gone I took care of our small business,running a gym. I loved it. It was very time-consuming, but it was also veryrewarding. It started to wear on me only when my pre-teen children complainedthat I was always at the gym, and never had time for them. Finally, I told myhusband that it was time for him to come home.
He put in his notice and started a stateside job. Thoughthe new job still required him to be gone for six months of the year, theabsences were in manageable blocks of two weeks. When he was home, he wouldtake care of the gym and I would have time off. It was perfect.
Then he got a call from a friend, with a job offer that wasjust too good to turn down…in Dubai.We discussed it, and decided he should take the job, even though we had a newone-year-old.
Not long after my husband left for Dubai, I was at the breaking point. I felttrapped with the business, our teens, and a one-year-old always needing myattention. I had no personal space, and I'm a person that requires time alone,or else I get cranky.
As luck would have it, the new job offered to bring familymembers over to live in Dubai.My first thought about moving to the Middle East?"Yeah, right." However, I researched Dubaiand was surprised at what I found. The country seemed very modern, and theschools sounded good.
So I told my husband, "Ok, we're coming." While I was bothnervous and excited, I was ready for a change, and moving to the Middle East sounded like just the adventure I needed.
When we got off the plane in October, the hot air hit myface and it felt like I had walked into a sauna. I thought, "Uh oh, what have Iagreed to?" Yes, the heat is hard to handle, but you learn to live your lifearound it. We do most things early in the morning or after the sun sets. It isvery much a nighttime culture. The city is beautiful and the Arabian Sea is breathtaking. I have grown comfortable living here, andeasily call it my home. Though I can now see myself here for a few years, thereare of course many things that I miss about America, and most of them involvefood. Some things are just impossible to find: I've searched high and low for aButterfinger, with no luck.
After a couple of months of enjoying my newfound free time,I eventually started to twiddle my thumbs. I was used to being busy, and withall the free time I needed to find something to fill the void. I saw an articlethat went into detail about how e-books had flung open many doors for writers.I thought that was interesting, and I mentioned it to my husband and he said hehad also seen many articles saying much the same thing. I jokingly said that Iwas going to write a novel. My husband, who believes I can do anything, thoughtit was a great idea. I have always enjoyed writing even though I had notwritten much since having children. As a teen, I used to mail short stories tomagazines and such, and like most avid readers, I always dreamed of somedaywriting a novel. Now I had my chance.That same night I sat down to write, and the story quicklyformed in my mind. I knew I wanted to write a young adult novel that wouldinvolve my Irish roots. The story just seemed to form itself: I would get ideasat random times and rush to write them down. It was frustrating at times,because I need relative quiet to focus. As you can imagine, with two teens anda two-year-old, finding quiet time is not easy. I wrote most of "Coexist" lateat night when everyone was asleep. It took approximately three months to writethe first draft, while the revision and editing process lasted longer than theinitial writing.
A great part of the writing process for me has beeninteracting with other writers. I have met some amazing people from onlinewriting groups and chat rooms. I learned a great deal in a short amount oftime. I don't think this undertaking would have been nearly as fun without thecommunity I have found. Moving halfway across the world has allowed me to haveboth more time with family, and the ability to pursue a dream I've had since achild.
***
This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25Personal Stories available on Amazonand Barnes& Noble. To read all of the stories, buy your copy today. Also included are sneak peeks into 25 novels! My paranormal romance novel, Coexist: Keegan'sChronicles #1, is one of the novels featured. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for BreastCancer.Coexist: Keegan'sChronicles #1AmazonUSAmazonUKBarnes& NobleSmashwords
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