I’m no expert on love and relationships. In fact, I’ve failed at all of them so far. However, my failures have taught me some important things about life and love, and being my most authentic self.

Here’s a little life and relationship advice from someone who would know because she has learned the hard way:

-If you get married, your spouse comes before the other people in your life. Yes. They. Do.

-Don’t hang on to your past, or it will interfere with your present.

-Be honest. If someone loves you, they will love you no matter what. If you can’t tell the truth, don’t think your lie will hold. It won’t. It will wreck another person’s life. Especially when they ask you up front and want an honest answer, and they eventually learn what you’re hiding.

-A wife is not a mother or maid to her husband, and a…

While following a symphony orchestra labor dispute recently, I was reminded of the public’s perception of professional orchestral musicians, i.e. these people don’t work hard or fulltime. Wrong! It’s the same thing with writers although with professional writers, the professional tends to go in quotes and work is actually hobby. Makes my blood boil.

It doesn’t help that getting paid for one’s art is so difficult. If I were to have gone into journalism and written as a journalist, there’d be no question that my writing was worth my salary. But a novel? Short stories? Just how much work goes into creating fiction? I’ve written before about creative writing as a job and what the job description would look like. There’s a lot more that goes into the work than people know or even think about. It’s not a matter of simply sitting at a desk and putting words…