Toni Andrews

My life changed one day while I was sitting on the toilet.

A couple of years ago, a person very close to me found himself in a mid-life "career opportunity" situation. Ever helpful and a lifetime book person, I went to the store, I bought a pile of those books about finding the color of your parachute and being what you are.

My friend never read them. Not everyone (gasp!) seeks answers from self-help books. Eventually, they found their way into my "reading room." I started skimming through them in my, er idle moments.

One day I found myself faced with one of those end-of-chapter summaries in the form of four questions. Here they are, more or less, along with my answers.

1. Do you like your job?

Yes, very much.

2. Would you keep it if they didn't pay you?

Hahahahahahahaha. No

3. If money wasn't a consideration, what would you do?

I’d write fiction.

4. Is there any reason you can't start now?

Uh.............no.

Of course! I could start writing fiction any time. Just walk over to the computer. Or pick up a pen. Or a crayon.

Omigod. I’d just decided on a new career. At forty-four. With my underpants around my ankles.

Was it really that simple? Well, yes, actually. Now I'm writing full time, living in the tiny lakeside cottage where I spent childhood summers. And I'm loving every minute of it!