Who Am I? Who Are You?

It happened almost ten years ago.  I woke up from a dead sleep.  And for about five seconds, five very long terrifying seconds, I had amnesia.  I didn’t have a clue who I was or where I was.  And I sure as heck didn’t have a clue who the woman was that was in bed with me.   

 I remember with clarity those horrifying few seconds—panic swelling up inside me, staring at this strange woman, her red hair sticking out in different directions, and screaming at the top of my lungs, “Who are you?”

She looked as frightened as I felt, but she forced a calm in her voice when she answered, “I’m your mama.”

It didn’t take a second after she said that for it all come back.  I was Christie Craig and Mom and I had gone on a mother/daughter trip and we were sleeping in a hotel room.     

I remember all I said was, “Oh.”  And I rolled over and went back to sleep.  Or at least I tried. 

Mama started laughing.   “Do I look that bad without my makeup?” she asked.

Then, I started laughing.  I don’t think we slept very much after that.

As funny as it turned out to be—yes, Mom still kids me about it—those few terrifying seconds of feeling nothing but a vast emptiness has stuck with me forever.  And that question, not the one I asked my mom, but the one I asked myself, “who am I,” has not only danced around my mind all this time, but it’s inspired several stories.

 August 10th, my third book, Taken at Dusk, in my young adult paranormal romance series, Shadow Falls, was released.  The underline theme in that book is one of an identity crisis.  At age sixteen, Kylie Galen, is trying to figure out who she is, only to realize she doesn’t know what she is.  Learning she isn’t all human is quite a shock to her—especially since up until she was sent to Shadow Falls Camp, she didn’t know non-humans existed. 

Kylie’s story is a young girl’s journey of self-discovery into friendship, and into young love.  And like me that night so long ago, she’s also trying to figure out who the heck her mom is.  

In my book, Blame it on Texas, the second book in my Hotter in Texas series, that will be out August, I again used the Identity crisis theme.  Imagine seeing a childhood picture of yourself splashed across the TV screen on an unsolved mystery show claiming you were kidnapped from some highfalutin Texas millionaire family.  Imagine learning that your corpse was supposedly discovered shortly after you were kidnapped.  Imagine it, when all your life you’ve had some strange memories that didn’t make sense.   And again, like that night ten years ago, my heroine, Zoe Adams not only is trying to find out who she is, but who the woman is that pretended to be her mother all those years. 

I think the question, “Who am I?”  is one we all ask ourselves every now and then.  Sometimes even when we’re awake.  A couple of years ago, I decided to do what any intelligent person would do who had a question scratching across the blackboard of her mind.  I went to Google and I Googled myself.  

I learned: 

I’ve been arrested.

I died.

I’m a politician.

I’m a porn star.

I’ve ran marathons.

And with a slight variation of my name, I’m a man who recently stalked Sarah Palin. 

Let me tell you, there are a few things there, I never thought I’d do.  Seriously, running marathons is not my thing.

Okay, so Googling isn’t the best way to answer the “Who am I?” question—but hey, it was a lot of fun. 

Maybe who I am and who we all are is connected to who and what I love.  I suppose the fact that I love wine, chocolate, and writing wacky stories makes me a bit of a wine-loving whacky chocoholic writer.  But that isn’t really who I am.

I’m a mother of two exceptional human beings who love life and laughter.  I’m a new grandma to a little girl whose sense of awe is inspiring.  I’m a wife to a man whose crazy antics brings me joy.  Even when those antics start fires.  A man whose support includes doing laundry and copy edits. I’m a daughter to a mother who when screamed at in middle of the night, finds humor in the moment and will never let me forget the embarrassment.

So, now that I told you about who I am, let me ask:  who are you?  If you would like a good laugh, go Google yourself. 

To one person leaving a post, telling me who you are, I’ll give away a $10 Amazon card.  So make sure you leave a comment.

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