The Eighth Day

By Courtney Pierce

I wish there were eight days in a week instead of seven: one day to be a responsible adult and pay the bills, two days to clean the house, and then take five days to write. Marching toward retirement changes my thinking, not so much to slow down, but to be able to do more. That dreaded age of sixty stalks me this week, a number that means upgrading to a more expensive face cream and cushier inserts in my hiking boots.

For those who know me through my character of Olivia Novack in the Dushane Sisters Trilogy, I, too, am a bit of a cleaning freak. The two reserved days for Swiffering aren't a chore for me. I know it sounds weird, but I love to clean. Dust bunny elimination and an immaculate refrigerator are happy moments. It’s kind of my version of yoga to get to that Zen moment. A spill of something sticky on the floor or a random horked-up fur ball from the cat is only a minor obstacle.

I squealed with delight when my mother gave me a mop with a special spinning bucket that

operates on the principal of centrifugal force, like a salad spinner for the mop head. Thanks to my Mom, my bamboo floors look great simply because I love to use that dang mop. And I’m always on the lookout for the perfect squeegee, a must-have tool for sparkling clean windows. At the end of the day, I splash some wine in a glass and admire my handiwork, whether inside or outside. Either way, I open the door and say "Ahhhhhh."

In my younger and suppler days, I wished that the week would zoom by faster—six days would’ve been a dream. In the 1980s, I’d stack my weekends with activities that were bigger, better, less responsible, and more fun. There were many late nights at San Francisco clubs, dancing to punk and new wave music. How on earth did I balance a career, marriage, and partying? I can only shrug at that one.

But wait—there’s more!

Photo: pepsicolawesternmt.com

Another reason that I want an eighth day in the week is because I want to hike, canoe, fish, and hunt with my husband. He’s at that “it’s about time” stage too. We want to learn the contour and lore of the land by walking it, paddling it, and stalking prey on it. The freezer awaits. We also garden to raise our own fresh vegetables. That tended land will be in Kalispell, Montana, our new home at the end of this summer. At any time of year, I can gaze a three-sixty to admire the snow-capped Swan Mountains and traverse a crystal-clear lake in our own backyard. The stars shine bright in the quiet of night above a bonfire, and the evidence of wild, fuzzy visitors greets us in the morning. There’s no stack-up of traffic or nonsense out of City Hall, just honest, hardworking folk who want to do right by their neighbors.

There are other things I could do with an extra weekday. I could make the trek to meet with an expert resource for researching my next book, Big Sky Talk. Since I have a bit of magical realism coming up, I want to meet with a Blackfoot elder to understand their folklore and beliefs about reincarnation. That will be an unbelievable extra day, one that I hope will affect the course of my writing life. Some small moments change people, and that’s one meeting that I hope will change mine.

Then there’s that eighth day with no plans or commitments. We could get in the car and go, drive along the S-curves of Glacier National Park, a photo op around every corner. I’d check the river's water level, the flora and fauna, and spot for bears, elk, and moose. The occasional fat turkey might hit my peripheral vision, and I’d make a Thanksgiving note about cooking time based on its weight. My husband would shoot it, clean it, and de-feather the poor beast before I’d shove it in the oven (of course, after all appropriate hunting licenses had been garnered). The real reward would be the praise from step-kids and step-grandkids savoring the aroma while watching ESPN. Food heals all historical wounds. I love their dad, and he loves me.

I saved the best for last. The extra day might be reserved for romance, the moment we women wish for with the men we love, topped only by fresh sheets before lotion. But with only seven days in the week, we have challenges by the time Saturday rolls around. Too tired. Too stressed. Too late. Too early. Too anything. But in our wishes, the time is just right. Maybe we could steal an overnight for just the two of us to trek into the wilderness. We’ll make up new wishes and dreams by the campfire, a reminder that life means nothing without a partner, a lover, and a best friend.

If all else fails, then maybe an extra day could be used for reading other authors’ works. I’m kind of hooked on a combo of Nevada Barr and Janet Evanovich. They’re opposite bookends: Barr's wildlife ranger action in Glacier National Park against Evanovich's Jersey Girl  bounty hunter of urban lowlifes. I’m tuning the characters for my new book, except mine will be baby boomers with a lot of life experience under their belts. That makes things deliciously complicated and messy. It’s going to take all I’ve got to sort it out—times eight.

I guess the number eight is more important than I thought, both to the Genrenistas and to me. I love blogging with Romancing the Genres. Happy anniversary to us. And happy writing to all.

Photo: Micah Brooks

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer splitting her time between Milwaukie, Oregon, and Kalispell, Montana with her husband. stepdaughter, and their brainiac cat, Princeton. Courtney writes for the baby boomer audience. She spent 28 years as an executive in the entertainment industry and uses her time in a theater seat to create stories that are filled with heart, humor, and mystery. She has studied craft and storytelling at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows Program for writing and publishing. Active in the writing community, Courtney is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and She Writes. The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal.

Audiobook now Available!

Check out all of Courtney's books: 

courtney-pierce.com and

windtreepress.com 

Print and E-books are available through most major online retailers, including Amazon.com.

Available Now!
Book 3 of the
Dushane Sisters
Trilogy

The Dushane Sisters Trilogy concludes with Indigo Legacy, available now. There's love in the air for Olivia and Woody, but will family intrigue get in the way? Ride along for the wild trip that starts in a New York auction house and peaks in a mansion on Boston's Beacon Hill. 

The Dushane sisters finally get to the truth about their mother.

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight."

Freedom

by Courtney Pierce

My writing dream isn’t about being famous, becoming wealthy, or pumping my ego full of nonsense. Honestly, that’s all hooey. For me, writing is about freedom—the founding-fathers kind, the soul-bearing kind. If I had to, I’d write in secret by candlelight to be able to say what I want to say, and I wouldn’t give a whit if anyone read it. Being an author can be a lonely, wallet-busting profession. My hard work would return only a few cents an hour if I depended on it for my living. I write on spec.

But that’s okay. I’d still be stupid rich in other ways.

As a quasi obsessive-compulsive, passionate person, I yearn to be engulfed in a story. While I’ve not been clinically diagnosed with OCD syndrome, I do know I can spend hours, days, or weeks immersed inside the heads of my characters. I love wrapping myself up in ridiculous, delicious scenes where the unthinkable happens. When I’m free to be in my writing cave, bats could land on my head without my noticing. I’ll even forget to eat or retrieve the day’s mail.

Image: CampusXtra

Sometimes I can’t believe I “went there” in prose, which invariably results in a frantic deletion exercise after I get out the words. Whether fictional people or animals, my characters become so real that I dream about them, talk aloud to them, and pepper them with questions like a therapist. It may sound a bit twisted, but that’s my personal technique for delivering a polished story.

Not all writers can go the distance given the emotional and physical investment required to produce a novel of polished words. It’s like hiking the Pacific Coast trail, complete with blisters and thirst. But when you get to the peak, the vista at 13,000 feet is a magnificent reward. There’s no other way to get there.

Absolute freedom takes discipline. If someone would say, “Here’s your prompt:  write anything you want with no limitations.”

My response would be: “Uhhhh . . . “ My mind would draw a complete blank.

On the other hand, if I saw a middle-age woman running through the airport terminal with her laptop cord dragging from her roller bag—oh, man! I could weave a tale around that image in fifteen minutes flat. Ideas are like seeds to be tended, nurtured, and watered. They grow and change to become something delectable and satisfying. Savory and sweet.

I got a tease of my writing dream when I took a break from the corporate grind to write my first book, Stitches. Like many baby boomers, I was sandwiched between helping my elderly parents and meeting the challenges of maintaining an executive career. Being the responsible lass that I am, my parents won out and my decades of saving afforded me the opportunity to take a breather. Writing became a comforting salve from the crush of responsibility. My one-year sabbatical stretched to five years and birthed five books. Number six has been a struggle since returning to work full-time again. It’s like trying to be creative after slapping on the cuffs.

Now that I’m back for the last financial infusion before retirement, I long for the absolute freedom again. The "writer's high" is so close I can touch it. With my husband being a writer too, he understands the intense pull of prose. For that, I’m blessed. Not every spouse appreciates the diversion of attention that is required to be a writer.

My husband and I will write together (and spar about our difference in styles) to the end of our days. When we can no longer see the words, we’ll dictate them into a translation program. When we lose our teeth and are unable to talk, we’ll telepathically know what each other is trying to say. And if neither one of us can function at all, then we’ll just hold each other and dream about our respective stories. We’ll already know how they end.

I did make my husband promise to sheep-sheer my nose hair should it become necessary. In turn, I’ve committed to do a bowie-knife trim of his eyebrows if they dare reach out to tickle my forehead.

And when we're both gone, we'll be young again, and our books will live on forever.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband and stepdaughter, along with their spoiled cat, Princeton. Courtney writes for the baby boomers audience.  The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal.  By day, Courtney is an executive in the entertainment industry and uses her time in a theater seat to create stories that are filled with heart, humor and mystery. She has studied craft and storytelling at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows Program for writing and publishing. Active in the writing community, Courtney is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and She Writes.

Coming Soon!
Book 3 of the
Dushane Sisters
Trilogy

Check out all of Courtney's books at 

courtney-pierce.com and

windtreepress.com. Both print and E-books are available through most major online retailers, including Amazon.com

The Dushane Sisters Trilogy concludes with Indigo Legacy, due out in summer, 2018. There's love in the air for Olivia and Woody, but will their family intrigue get in the way? Ride along for the wild trip that starts in a New York auction house and peaks in a mansion on Boston's Beacon Hill. The Dushane sisters finally get the answers they've been seeking about their mother.

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight."