A few years ago, when I was in my master degree program for creative writing in Sydney, I was telling a friend that sometimes it's hard to take my work seriously enough to put in the long hours necessary to find success.

“My sister helps kids walk,” I told my friend, Nic, a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Randwick Children's Hospital. “I write romances.” I made a face. “It's hard to think of myself as helping the world be a better place.”

“But you are helping,” Nic insisted. “When I lose a patient at work, forgetting about it for a little while in the pages of a book is exactly what I need.”

Honestly, I hadn't thought about it that way until Nic said it. But that's what I do; when life is getting to be too much, all I want is a little down time with a good book. I want a story that will make me laugh or gasp or in any way take my mind off my own troubles.

Nic put me on the road to having the right attitude about being a writer of silly stories. Silly is exactly what people need sometimes. I mean, really, why else do I love reading about a wizard in Chicago battling the forces of evil? (I love you, Jim Butcher! In a purely platonic and professional way, of course. 😉 )

I write about superheroes because I love stories of good versus evil. I write romantic stories because I believe that love is the answer to everything. And I write things that make me laugh because I love to laugh! And I love to make other people laugh!

So thanks, Nic, for helping me to see that my job is important. I take my silly stories more seriously since talking to you that night. Now I'm focused on making sure I become the best escape artist I can be – to help you and everyone else who needs a little break now and then. 😉