Guest Blogger Bonnie McCune

Everyday Adventures: "The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings," said author Rudyard Kipling. That's certainly my perspective, and from this attitude, I see each day as an adventure and each person as an opportunity to learn more. In my new novel, A Saint Comes Stumbling In, I drew upon a number of everyday adventures I've experienced myself to add to the plot. One example is the exercise and weight-lifting that heroine Joan attempts. Like Joan, I was a novice years ago and hesitated to insert my small and female self into the world of muscular men. But taking a deep breath, and with a supportive husband at my side, I plunged forward. I've now been weight-lifting for about 30 years. You wouldn't know it from looking at me (I'm not muscle-bound), but I enjoy it and feel good afterwards. Another example is the fear Joan faces when she has a massive water leak. That comes straight from my life. Who knows why I'm obsessed with water leaks (some deep psychological neurosis, I assume), but I've learned to handle them by having the phone numbers of several reliable plumbers handy. These "adventures" don't compare to parachuting into a jungle, but they represent the way you can perceive the most common activity as worthy of valuing as an experience.   Bonnie McCune, author, "A Saint Comes Stumbling In"