47 Things I Learned About Myself Now That I’m 47
Last June I turned 47 and I’ve been working on a list of things I learned about myself in the past 47 years.
Here it is:
1. Nothing beats the flow of writing a first draft.
2. I only stick to exercise if I pay for it (but I love my personal trainer).
3. After a party or social event, I prefer not to talk for approx 24 hours.
4. I love reading my own books (and can finally unapologetically say that).
5. I rarely read romance.
6. I'm ridiculously addicted to murder mysteries.
7. I love television so much.
8. I love my cat more than most humans (a fact she takes advantage of every hour she's awake).
9. I'm not a plotter. I enjoy just letting the story come to me as I write it.
10. Top notch fantasy casting is the best writing fuel.
11. When I'm writing a first draft, I have to stop myself from getting totally sucked into the story in order to live a regular life.
12. I love a shiny new thing just a little too much (but it's good that I know it now.)
13. It's okay not to work all the time even if my work = me.
14. I used to be an early bird but now I like to snooze for a while and let my characters get up to all sorts in my head before I get up.
15. It's okay not to be everyone's cup of tea.
16. My characters are often much braver than I am, but I get to live through them, and that’s the magic of writing as well.
17. Paris is my happy place (if this sounds bougie, I've been trying to perfect being a bougie lesbian so it's a win for me.)
18. I'll take four espressos in the morning, please.
19. I write better when I’m not trying to be liked.
20. A life without gays is like a murder mystery without a plot twist: dull, predictable, and not worth it.
21. I prefer a 5-star hotel over camping.
22. I don't have the brain space for social media.
23. I'm 'fairly' high-maintenance.
24. I have a dream wife and dream job (so a dream life), and to think that…
25. I have perfected the art of lunchtime napping to trashy TV shows of exactly 41 minutes.
26. Patience is a virtue I don't possess.
27. I will always overpack and yet always wear the same clothes.
28. The e-bike is the best invention ever.
29. When I watched I Kissed A Girl, I felt like such an old lesbian (compared to the girlies in the Masseria).
30. I'm so proud to be a professional lesbian.
31. I will never drive a car.
32. Overthinking is my love language.
33. Concussion is my comfort/most-watched movie (the lesbian one, not the Will Smith one).
34. When Harry Met Sally is my favourite straight people movie.
35. Celine Dion Forever!
36. When someone asks me why I don't write straight romance, I no longer dignify such a silly question with an answer.
37. I'm not actively trying for 50 books by 50, but it would be nice…
38. Age gap really is my jam.
39. I genuinely believe being gay is one of the best things about me.
40. My Mrs is the sweetest, kindest person I know (but she must really be into difficult women...)
41. As I get older, I write slower, but that's okay.
42. I will never try to write more than 3 books per year again (and 2 is more than enough.)
43. I sometimes watch the first 20 minutes of Wonder Woman just to see Robin Wright as an Amazon.
44. Our 7 years in Hong Kong have profoundly changed my life.
45. Drama is my raison d'être.
46. I fully embrace my love for the long-winded sentence.
47. I will never grow tired of writing stories of two (difficult) women falling in love…