My Marriage and Infidelity

I have been married for three years now. All in all, it’s been a good marriage. I must confess, though, I have not been completely faithful.

I have this crazy relationship with Legends in Time. I have been married to the series for what seems like forever. It is truly a love/hate relationship, and I have my ups and downs in this marriage. Sometimes it makes me feel lost. I get overwhelmed. I get bored. Still, I push forward, not always knowing why. Something inside keeps me writing.

I don’t remember specifically professing to ‘richer or poorer’, but I supposedly did. I must have been drunk at my own wedding, because that part is a blur. Although I’ve done alright for myself, I know this one can go either way in the long run.

I also don’t remember swearing to ‘in sickness and in health’, but once again, I must have. This one isn’t fair, because even in sickness, Legends in Timedemands my attention. How can this be fair?

And health? How is it possible to stay healthy while pecking away at the keyboard for more hours than I can count?

I can tell you, it’s tough.

Sometimes my marriage makes me confused. My head gets foggy and I can’t think straight. Sometimes my marriage demands things I can’t give.

Sounds dismal, doesn’t it?

Lucky for me, I share Legends in Time with two other creators. Jordan Benoit and Nathan Palmer are both very talented, and this series is as much his theirs as it is mine. Sharing the duties isn’t all that bad, despite it sounding like some weird swingers thing.

I’ll just make sure my neighbors never find out.

Back to my marriage.

My real passion has never been in the genre of fantasy. I never really thought I’d be writing it. My enthusiasm is growing, I must say. Whereas other genres have limits, fantasy does not. It is truly free. You can let your mind go wild when writing fantasy. Sometimes, yes, writers get carried away and wonder why they only sell a dozen copies. Yet then again, sometimes they can get carried away and have the greatest of successes.

Will I ever be a Tolkien? No.

First off, I’m not that smart.

Secondly, I don’t know if I could bring myself to devote an entire life (my only life, I might add) on just one story. I’m the kind of person that wants to share my love for literature, and experience different genres.

Because variety IS the spice of life.

This leads to my infidelity. I must confess again, I do cheat from time to time.

My marriage knows this, though—it’s not something I hide. I get bored withLegends in Time. It’s a series that seems to have no end, and sometimes I wonder how long my marriage will last.

Unfortunately, this boredom causes me to cheat. I’m fortunate because my marriage is understanding, but I’m torn, and I  act on my impulses. My desire to write other things gets in the way. I guess I’m just not a one story kind of guy.

I know what you’re saying. I sound like a polygamist. Not quite, though. I am more of a fiction polygamorist, in that I’ve yet to marry another. However, I cheat because I simply love too many genres of fiction to limit myself to just one.

Does that make me a fiction whore?

I prefer junkie.

Horror has always been my first love. Although, as I get older, I write less and less of it. Still, horror excites me.

I remember when they re-released a re-mastered version of the Exorcist. Nothing better than the pair of tough guys who sat in front of my best friend and I in the theater. Seeing them jump and scream out as Regan flicked her god-awful tongue still brings a smile to my face.

Perhaps it was because it was horrific.

Perhaps it’s because my best friend and I were doing the same thing.

I will get my taste of horror this year. My project, The Endlands, should satisfy that need. It will not be permanent, but all I need is a temporary fix. I’ll probably get the desire again to write horror next year and I’ll probably cheat once more.

I’m still young and I guess I have some wild oats to sow.

Lately I have also been cheating with another project, The Blue Bus. It has held my attention more than it should, and I must release it before it leads me to a divorce.

My marriage hasn’t been too happy about either, as well as my co-authors in theLIT series. I can’t help it. It’s a primal instinct sort of thing for me to cheat.

I’m impulsive.

I desire passion.

Life can be bland, and something new is important.

I suppose these things are just part of life. Reminds me of those lyrics:

‘You take the good

You take the bad

You take them both

And there you have

The facts of life. The facts of life.’

Why do I cheat?

Is it because I’m not always satisfied?

Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

Let’s just say I struggle with the monotony of monogamy. My mind is often elsewhere, and it’s hard to stay focused.

I’d like to blame it on being a writer thing, but I know it goes deeper than that. I have many stories in my head— too many to count.

And after I finish other novels, I’ll cheat on them too. And, I’ll go back to my marriage eventually, because LIT grounds me, and keeps me focused. My marriage may not understand my unfaithful ways, because at the end of the day, I always come home to it. I’m in for the long haul, and only until death will we part.

-Vincent Hobbes