I fell and fractured my coccyx and sacrum, not too badly, but enough that I had to stay still. No haring about the countryside, in fact no driving at all. I sat on a cushion cut out so there would be no pressure on my spine and I had no choice but employ my time in sedentary activities.

I wrote, I read, I listened and I got to thinking. Always trouble.

What if I choose to live more simply?

Since I couldn’t go anywhere and had little energy to chat much, I sewed and listened to books. I love to be read to, and this is a joy I often don’t allow myself in the busyness of my life.

By the way anyone who has access to their library via an app (Borrowbox in New Zealand) can access audio and e-books for FREE and the the author gets paid!

One of the books I listened to was Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert-what a fabulous book in living a creative life.

How creative can I be stuck at home unable to move from my chair?

Elizabeth Gilbert suggests in her Big Magic, that curiosity is a key to being creative. I whooped with excitement when I heard her words. Exactly what I always thought. Since being curious is my modes operandi, I know there is no end to what I can create.

I had grand notions of house decorating and sculpture in my trees, but my back reminded me none to kindly, that I had to stay still.

What could I create from my chair in a week?

I challenged myself to see what I could create in a week. The list was surprisingly long, writing a short story from beginning to end, first draft which wasn’t pretty but done. Christmas fairies fashioned from scraps of wool, lists oh yes LISTS are a creative things with colored pencils and all, and I got stuck into drawing a map of my Highland seer’s series world. I think it may also be the world of the next series too, but all in good time.

 What now?

Well now, would you believe we are in lock-down so I am still stuck at home, but not to my chair, so my world has become larger, not smaller as it has for my family. I find myself having energy to do things around the house that have been neglected for years, and a mellow routine of finishing a task, then moving gently to enjoy something else. Writing continues every morning no matter what the weather, usually very early since I have the urge to clean the decks and paint the downpipes! Each to their own!

That short story I mentioned is on pre-order in an anthology of three short Regency Romances with the Three Quills, Jen Yates and Leigh D’Ansey and myself to be published on 31st of October 2021.

Here’s the blurb to entice you to enjoy a romp in The Republic - now the Netherlands, when warehouse of medicinal herbs and spices held the wealth of nations.

Lisette’s promise

Lisette’s determination to woo her man, despite not being eligible for her full inheritance if she does not marry a titled gentleman, has her following Mr. Matthew Alpin to The Republic in the Low Countries, where she becomes perilously close to losing her innocence. Fortunately for her Matthew is close at hand. If only he’d forgive her for putting herself in danger they could be together.

Matthew is a gardener and knows Lisette is out of his league with no chance of ever having a title. Since Lisette has followed him on his search for exotic seeds, he must protect her from a villainous Spaniard, who is cast under Lisette’s spell. Saving her is what he will always do, but can he save himself from loving her too much?

Find it on all the usual places (Amazon, Kobo and more) or request it in your library.

Wishing you well where ever you may be, stuck in a chair, a house or able to wander freely.

Caroline