1. That feeling when I’ve done a good day’s work and I’m going to bed early with a good book that I have already started reading and so I know it’s a good book, unlike brand new reads that may disappoint me and then I have to find a new one and my evening routine is ruined. Oh, this was going to be about JOY and not crushing disappointment, so I soldier on:
2. When the snow all around the neighborhood turns blue for about ten minutes at sunset.
3. When my cat – murderous to the mice in the neighborhood – charges at me from a hiding place, jumps at my thigh, and slides down my leg with claws withdrawn. I think of it as a hug!
4. The moment when a story idea hits me out of nowhere. Kind of like stepping on a land mine of happiness.
5. Opening up an email from my publisher with my new cover art revealed. Oops … wait a minute. That’s only JOYFUL if I love the cover, which, believe me, has only ever happened a few times in my 14-book career, so it’s more like the Lady or the Tiger. You know, when the guy has to choose which door to open and it might be a happy marriage or kiss your ass goodbye?
6. Chocolate covered caramels. With little crystals of sea salt on them.
7. Alright, I admit to being this superficial, but when a major book review site gives me a rapturous review! Oops … wait a sec, that’s only ever happened to me a few times in my 14 book career, so the other side of the coin is … but I digress.
8. Meditation in the morning when I have actually managed to Do It for the whole time and not be thinking about the grocery list or do I need to scratch my neck and is that the start of a really weird skin condition?
9. Oh, and there was this truly JOYFUL moment the other day when it was snowing in the bright sunshine and no wind was blowing and the snow came straight down and in slow-motion and sparkled like crystals on fire. This really happened.
10. Friends, family, books. And the Skiffy and Fanty Show!
Kay Kenyon is the author of 14 science fiction & fantasy novels, most recently At the Table of Wolves, a historical fantasy. It is set in 1936 England when Talents have come into the world, and a woman uses her gift for hearing the truth, the spill, to uncover a Nazi plot to subdue England with a mysterious power over ice and cold. (“A superb adventure.” –PW starred review) Book 2 of the trilogy, Serpent in the Heather, releases April 10. Follow Kay on Twitter as @KayKenyon and at www.kaykenyon.com.
