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Friday, July 01, 2011

If Money Were No Object by Paula Roe

There’s many things I love about being a writer – working from home, writing for a living, meeting wonderful readers and fellow writers. And one of the techiques that kick start me into a new story is asking ‘what if’. Some would call it day dreaming :-) but one of the frequent ‘what ifs’ when I was growing up (besides “what if I got a pony for Christmas?”) was “what would you buy if you won the lottery?”

Okay, so I’ve moved on from “building a chocolate volcano”, “new rollerskates” and “paying Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran to marry me” (although the chocolate volcano thing still holds great appeal...) But this question recently came up during a conversation I had with my 10 year old son. Of course, his answers were along the lines of “buy every single Lego set made”, “adopt a bunch of cats and rabbits” and “take a trip to Hawaii”. Mine? After I ruled out the obvious charity donations, I came up with these:

• holidaying in style. It’d be business class all the way, absorbing the wonders of Europe without worrying if the communal toilet would still be working when I returned to the cruddy, broken-down hotel that looked way better in the brochure.

• a nice car. Nothing over the top, just something cute and sporty, with a soft top. And a hybrid, of course!

• sparkles. I love jewelry, so I’d buy me a gorgeous pink diamond ring to mark the momentous occasion

• a personal trainer. Because given the chance, I like to laze around in bed, or relax in front of the TV or sit in front of the computer. Writers’ lives can be so sedentary and some cute muscley guy helping me work up a sweat would be a great motivator :-)

• a summer house. Somewhere along the Gold Coast of Australia, or maybe on one of the Whitsunday Islands. Or, heck, maybe I’ll just do a Richard Branson and buy the whole island instead and rent it out to the rich and famous when I’m not in residence!

So, what would your lottery win bring you? A Caribbean cruise? A house on Sydney Harbor? Share your fantasy – money no object! - and you could win a book from one of my backlist.

Paula’s next book, Bed of Lies (Harlequin Desire) is a February 2012 release. You can visit her at her website http://www.paularoe.com, Twitter www.twitter.com/paulawrites or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/paularoefanpage

20 comments:

Mary Preston said...

The most perfectly designed Eco-House. Generate my own solar power & use only rain-water. Have a sustainable garden & orchard. It would cost a fortune to do all I wanted, but after that clean living.

Rachael Johns said...

Oooh I like Marybelle's suggestion - my hubby would like me to say that!
My fantasy would be paying off our business and then buying a house we could stay in whenever we go to Perth. A flash one, right on the beach of course with a whole room for books :)
Oh and I'd buy myself some expensive jewellery cos my jewellery collection is dire!

Scarlet Wilson said...

I can tell you exactly what i want and where to buy it! The Argylle Arcade Glasgow, a beautfiul emerald and diamond ring with a price tag of £17,500 that I have been lusting after for the last five years!!
That - and a permanent place on the MSc cruise lines around the Med. Perfect!!

Paula Roe said...

Marybelle, I love your idea! I saw a wonderful episode of Grand Designs, which tracked the progress of a couple in Europe who made their eco home partially underground. Cost a bomb but was fab!

Paula Roe said...

scarlet, for the last 20 years I've been lusting after a gorgeous cartouche (sp?)bracelet in a jewelery store down Sydney's Strand Arcade. Though it's not as exxy as your ring ;-)

Rach - yep, bill paying would top my list first!

Camille said...

love the personal trainer idea, add personal chef there too and nutritionist- it's so easy to maintain weight when there are people making sure you do!

maybe even acres and acres of land so I can open an animal sanctuary and buy/adopt the animals in shelters and rescue those that need homes. As you can see I'm a huge animal rights supporter lol

then I'd buy my mom a round the world ticket, plane or cruise, whatever.

I'm more than happy to order a sh*tload of books from the comfort of my own home (which I would likely have built and made exactly like a hobbit home in the shire LOL)- money is no object on bookdepository? DREAM COME TRUE right there ;P

-Camille/@Envyious

Laney4 said...

Second vehicle and insurance. Hubby recently fell asleep at wheel after midnight shifts, and insurance now over six times its previous premium, so we aren't replacing the vehicle. Since I am the one working from home, I go without. Miss my car....

Add on to existing 1,050 square foot home, including a second bathroom and guest rooms. Love our neighbours so don't want to move....

Visit family 2,000+ miles away - OFTEN! Used to visit every year or so. Haven't been out there in probably seven years or so (but they've visited us, thankfully)....

Buy clothes that feel good AND look nice. 'Nuf said....

Susanna Carr said...

I love Camille's idea of a personal chef. That would be wonderful!

Lolarific said...

I'd buy a beach house first. One right on the water. Then maybe a shrimp boat for my husband, he'd need something to keep him busy. I'd definitely set up college funds for both of my sons so they'd never have to worry about that. Those are the three things at the top of my lottery list. Tons of small things like cars for my little brothers would be on there too at some point. They're my other babies!

Jane said...

I would definitely take a Mediterranean cruise and invite my family. I think I'll also buy a house for my parents.

Estella said...

I would pay off my mortgage, get a new car---mine is 13 years old.
Would also see that my kids mortgages were paid off.

Angela Castle said...

DIVORCE! oh, and a baby sitter.

Keziah Hill said...

An apartment on Sydney Harbour, another in Paris, a house here in the Mountains (a nicer one), a cook, a cleaner, a personal trainer so I get some exercise somewhere since I won't be cooking and cleaning, a really good financial plan so I can live comfortably and give the rest to my family and charity. I haven't thought about this much have I?

Margaret M said...

If we're talking fantasies and seriously rich - I'd like it all, the fantastic house, the car, the jewellery, personal chef, trainer, cleaner.

Sighhhhh, so nice to dream and that's probably why I'm addicted to reading romance and your wonderful stories.

Cheers,
Margaret

Cheryl Wright said...

The first thing I would do is get someone in to design and build a bookshelf to store all my books. (Including your fab books, Paula!)

Then I would hire a housekeeper. A live-in one of course, someone who would do all the cooking and cleaning, pick up after the kids, and do the washing too.

Oh wait, that's a slave.

Hmmmm.... personal slave. Yep, that sounds good too! LOL

Seriously though, loads of shelves and cupboards. Can you believe that three and a half years ago I moved into a house that was double the size of the previous one but had half the cupboard space? Yikes!

Still trying to find places for everything.

Gia said...

I want my own Barista. Unlimited Mochas when I want them...now....and chai lattes...

Of course he has to be drop dead gorgeous, but at the moment the top priority is to be able to make killer Mochas and Chai Lattes

Jo's Daughter said...

I would buy a cottage with a garden large enough to grow my own herbs and vegetables. Get all the romance novels on my wishlist & adopt a few cats.

Also get a new raincoat and walking boots so that I can enjoy the country surrounding my humble abode in any weather :D

Paula Roe said...

Wow, you guys haven't thought about it much, have you? LOL! Cruises, houses, cars...and I'm totally there with the personal chef, too - and the slave ;-) Even a housekeeper would be great, because I HATE doing the washing up.

awww, shucks, Margaret and Cheryl :-D

Gia - a barista is an awesome idea! Perfect coffee every time.

Camille - I'm so there with the animal sanctuary. There's something missing if you don't have pets.

Michele L. said...

My wish would be to own 3 different vacation homes in different parts of the world along with my own private plane. That would be awesome! That way I couldn't say I had never been anywhere! Ha,ha! I love to travel but don't have the money too.

Also, it would be nice to be financially stable. To not have to worry about having enough money to pay off my bills. That is the plight of my life since I work part-time, get only $8.00 an hour, and never have enough money for anything.

Paula Roe said...

Long time no see, all!

So the winner of my backlist book is... Camille. I just love the idea of a animal sanctuary! So email me and let me know your book preference, okay?