What career are you in? I’d bet for most of you, someone has asked you why you chose that path. A doctor? “What made you choose to save lives?” A teacher? “What made you choose to teach elementary school?” And the list goes on…
I’ve been writing for more than 3 years now. True, that’s not an extremely long time, but it’s a huge deal for me, as this is, literally, my dream come to life. I’ve done blog hops, guest posts, interviews, and I’ve answered a lot of questions since publishing my first book, Love Bite, in February 2012. I’ve been asked what made me write that particular book, how I write, where my ideas come from…
And yet, it dawns on me no one has ever asked me WHY I write. No one has ever asked me why I’m an author, or what my goal is. Maybe it seems to obvious… but I don’t write for money or fame. That’s not my ultimate goal. It’s not to see my name on the NY Times bestseller list someday, although that would be amazing, of course. It’s not even just because I have to write, because I’m compelled to, because I can’t do anything else.
I have a lovely dream in my head. Someday, hopefully, there will be money. Trust me… there’s precious little of that now! *winks* My husband and I are big supporters of the military. My husband was in the Army, we have friends in the Army, Navy, National Guard, etc. We have people that matter to us who serve.
And we know those who’ve come home on medical discharge. We know someone who suffers from PTSD. And we know how very hard it is to keep them from falling through the cracks… and how many each year do so.
We also are HUGE animal lovers… and I won’t bother answering how many we, personally, have that we take care of!
My dream combines those elements. I have to hope that, someday down the road, there will be money, and we can afford to make a dream come true. In my head is a vision of a no-kill ranch, a place where people can come to find the animal that fits their household. It would be staffed entirely by veterans, those who’ve served our country and come stateside only to have nowhere to go. Staff would live on the property, earn a wage, and have a roof over their head, food in their bellies, and a job to do that would, hopefully, soothe their souls, their spirits.
THAT is why I write. Because, someday, if I’m very lucky, I will have the money to give back, the money to make that dream a reality. I write because I must, because I can’t see myself ever doing anything else, but also because I hope to do something that matters for those who’ve served.
That… that is why I write…
Kay Glass, Author 
I have this dream that my book will be successful enough that I can donate proceeds to animal shelters. I, too, am a huge animal lover and would love to be able to contribute. Writing was never my first passion. It was acting and singing. But this is the only outlet where I’ve been able to tolerate my “voice”.
That’s a wonderful dream! I wish you much luck with it, as well. If nothing else, it’s always lovely to help your local shelters organize drives to gather funds, food, blankets, etc. There’s lots of ways we can help until the day we can make our dreams come true!