Living the dirty dream

I'll be doing a lot of this for a few days.

I’ve held down a full-time job since I was 18. Even in college I washed dogs, sold donuts, and wrote newspaper articles to keep a roof over my head and Chianti on the table.

If at any point in my adult life you had asked me what my dream job would be, I’d probably snort and give you a semi-smartass, semi-serious answer:

Well, I’d like to get paid to travel, hang out with my pets, drink wine, and write about it all.

So I’m a little stunned to realize that for a few days anyway, I get to do just that.

Pythagoras and I are currently traveling through Oregon wine country doing research for the third novel in my three-book contract with Sourcebooks, Inc.

I’ll be visiting some of my favorite wineries and vineyards including Illahe, Adelsheim, and Sineann to learn the ins and outs of what they do and how they do it.

And yeah, I might have a glass of wine. Or twelve.

Since LET IT BREATHE is already under contract, that technically means I’m being paid to do this research and write this book. Pretty mind-blowing, considering I’ve spent the last eight years researching and writing with only the faint hope that my books would eventually be read by someone besides my mom and my agent.

I’ll be back to blogging on Wednesday – and back to bills, back to reality, back to the knowledge that I have to write a helluva lot more books for this to be anything close to a livable wage.

Or maybe I’ll sell a kidney on the black market.

But for a little while anyway, I’m living the dream.