Before I get started, I’d like to thank Elaine for hosting me today. The invite and the space are most appreciated. JI thought I’d talk a bit about a question I was faced with in a recent interview that threw me a little bit and reminded me of those dratted theme papers we all had to write as children every year until we reached middle school it seemed. What did I want to be when I grew up?
Honestly, I could write pages on this, because it seemed I wanted to be everything under the sun at one time or other. My earliest memory of what I wanted to be was a mommy and housewife…Yes, girls there are still a few of us out there that aspire to this oft times thought of as menial and degrading task. I was all girl—and still am truth be told—and had every dolly known to man, the entire kitchen from Sears, pots and pans, cribs for said dollies…You name it, it was in my repertoire in preparation for finding the ideal man and bagging him then filling his house with our offspring. J I got it partially right…I finally bagged the right man after a few failed attempts, but ended up working outside the home for many years for various reasons which we won’t speak of. **shudder** Thankfully, those days are behind me now. I also didn’t fill the house with as many children as I might have liked, but the ones we did have gave us a run for our money.
After I grew a bit in the britches, as my granny used to say, I decided I wanted to be a writer. Yep, just like that. I even asked for a toy typewriter for Christmas one year, which Santa delivered thank you very much jolly red man. That dream was pushed to the side for dreams of becoming a singer, a teacher, a nurse, a psychologist, a professor of literature…And the list goes on. Good grief, what didn’t I want to be was an easier question. But, somehow the writer gig just kept surfacing every few years to be pushed away for things that were in dire need of my attentions.
Want to know what I actually ended up doing once I grew a bit more in the britches? Are you sure you’re ready? The list is extremely long. I went to college and got two or three degrees, none of which I’ve ever used by the way. One in English, one in sociology and one in psychology. Now just so you know, I may never have utilized these degrees in their intended sense, but they sure as heck prepared me for all the jobs I did land and subsequently have helped immensely with the primary dream of becoming a writer. So, here goes. I worked at McDonald’s, manned a register at a quicky mart, cleaned rooms in three different motels and a resort, worked as a front page news reporter for a small town paper, worked as a seamstress in Lee jeans factory on several different lines, I was a bank teller at one point and as we moved I moved to several different “brands”, took a temp position as an office assistant, worked for a vendor for the MCX chain of stores in the music department, and stocked for another vendor at the commissary dealing with soy products. Oh, and I have been the head domestic goddess for fifteen years now. Whew! I think that’s all.
None of them were what I wanted to be, but I learned something from them all. And every single thing I’ve ever done led me to what I do now. I’m a writer. It’s exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up…
Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Destiny’s Fire, Salvation, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, and the Identity series. She’s a member in good standing of RWA and Passionate Ink. Currently she’s working on sequels to several series to be released throughout 2012. And has a brand new line scheduled for winter 2012-13. Ms. Munro also works as the VP of Business Affairs for Rebel Ink Press. She loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted via her website http://realmanticmoments.blogspot.com or through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Lila_Munro You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com For more information about Rebel Ink Press please visit their website at www.rebelinkpress.com
