I subscribe to a daily inspirational news feed that inserts my name and a personal goal into the automated message. My original goal in 2002? A home in Montana. When we moved here three years ago, I changed my online goal to Time to write and later to Two good friends in Montana. Check! Check! Funny thing… the inspirational message spontaneously reverted to A home in Montana a few weeks ago, making me revisit a long-held dream of fresh air, mountains, winter wardrobe, and peace and quiet. My original goal held the promise of open spaces and beautiful views, but peace and quiet was the key after a demanding career in the big city. Perhaps even isolation.
After all, I’m a writer and an introvert at that. I live in my head and require solitude to capture my internal hubbub on the page. However, I’m never alone.
My characters inhabit my studio, surrounded by cherished objects that make me happy, and together we concoct stories. Sometimes my typing fingers can’t keep up with their conversations, the action. So they replay the scene for me, adding dialogue here, meaningful gestures there.
Today my home in Montana is much more than the northwest corner of this vast state or the dirt road up a hill to our built-for-two house where each room has a purpose. The home I once dreamed about now consists of a studio, my desk at the bay window, fingertips pressing on an old laptop’s dusty keys, and this morning’s view.
Hannah (the main character in Burden of Breath) used to pace behind my chair from recliner to bookcase, now and then pausing to whisper, “Yes, I could heal here.”
I know what she meant.
~ Ann Minnett
Montana Women Writers 
What a lovely space. And how you describe it makes me want to live in that space too! (Don’t worry!)
What a lovely story, Ann. Thanks for sharing!
After reading your wonderful book, Ann, I knew we had a lot in common. But after reading your insightful post, I believe we must be kindred spirits, even to the point of migrating to Montana from the same state.
I read this line “Hannah (the main character in Burden of Breath) used to pace behind my chair from recliner to bookcase, now and then pausing to whisper, “Yes, I could heal here.”….and just said Wow. Because beyond your description of Montana, your love of Montana, I’m in awe of how real characters are to authors.
If I hadn’t read the book and didn’t stalk my favorite authors on FB, the nurse in me might have read this line and wondered about a psych consult…. LOL
LOVED Burden Of Breath and loaned my Kindle copy to someone yesterday so they could take it on vacation!
Pauline – thanks so much for your lovely note. I wrote for many years and kept my stories to myself. You’ve helped to give me confidence in my writing and to KEEP WRITING!
Ann, you are a refined lady living in a woodsy place. Life is good.