A New Kind of Working Vacation, Maggie Shayne

I was watching the news the other day, when who should show up on my TV screen but romance author Eloisa James! The odd part was, she wasn’t there to talk about a book. She was the subject of a story about a new kind of vacation; one where you get to spend your “downtime” working at your dream job.

Now for most romance authors, we’re already doing our dream job. But we dream BIG. It’s an occupational hazard. So there are always fantasies running around in our heads, of other kinds of lives it might be fun to lead. Mostly, we live them vicariously through our characters. But Eloisa took things to a whole other level.

She wanted to know what it would be like to be a songwriter. So she signed up for this gig where she actually got to work with a country singer to write a country song, which was then performed in public—and it was a really GOOD song, too!

The full story is in More Magazine, and you can find a link to it from Eloisa’s website at www.eloisajames.com

All of this got me to thinking about what I might be doing if I wasn’t in my current career. Now my first choice, and most of my readers know it, would be rock star. I’d love to belt out songs on a stage in front of a stadium full of screaming fans. The closest I get is when I have too much vodka and a karaoke machine within reach. The audience is entirely optional. My son in law Ben has a certain videotape to prove it. (And he refuses to hand it over, in case he ever falls out of favor and needs a blackmail device, I guess. Thank goodness I’m GOOD. And thank goodness I adore him. He bought me a pony to win my favor, after all, but that’s another story.)

But what else might I dream of doing? Archaeologist is at the top of my list. As I kid, that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. Can you imagine being the guy who dug up the stone tablets that held a flood story pre-dating the biblical one by centuries? I’d lead an expedition into Iraq (which would be blessedly peaceful in my fantasy, of course) and dig up the cities and temples of ancient Sumer. It would be so awesome.

Or how about a professional dancer? I piddle around with belly dance some, and I’d love to be really great at it, like the amazing women on the how-to videos, who show you simple routines, which you do, and feel so good about—until the end when they perform a demonstration in which they gyrate while balancing swords--on edge--on their bellies! That’s so cool.

Or how about a tour guide in someplace like Hawaii? Or a private investigator? Or a forest ranger? Or a veterinarian, or wildlife rehabilitator, either of which would be so gratifying. I love animals. Except rats. My practice would definitely discriminate against the rodent population. Yeah, I know, I’m a bigot, an anti-rat-ite, but what can I say? We all have our flaws. And frankly, I don’t think rats like me much either.

I’ve created characters who do nearly every job I’ve mentioned, so I’ve lived them in fantasy. But darn, it might be fun to do them in reality.

I applaud you, Eloisa, for going out and living a dream. What a great example! Life is short. We should definitely do the things we dream about. Some of the things on my list are actually attainable. There are groups that you can join to go on archaeological digs right in my own area. And, in fact, I know an author who is also a wildlife rehabilitator--Kristin Madden—so it can be done. Maybe I should pursue some of the more attainable dream jobs on my list.

What about you? Share your dream jobs with me! Is there any way you can get a taste of them in real life? Dare to consider it. Once you convince yourself that something is possible, the main obstacle to attaining it is obliterated. I’m living proof of that. So consider the possibilities. Dare to dream big. You’ll never regret it.

Maggie