Over the New Year’s holiday weekend, my husband and I began watching the television series “Yellowstone”. We had watched the first two of the prequel series the week prior, and dove into a pastime we had not partaken in since ordering a television series on DVD.

Now the fact we have not really indulged in streaming services prior to now betrays our ages and our lifestyle. Both of us have been more focused on our work for our jobs—his appearing never-ending because he comes home after working a 10-hour day, and then logs right back on to take care of the things a superior, who cannot get herself into the officer before noon, or get anything accomplished before 3 pm, which means work for his technology team after hours—and the employees he supervises are not authorized for overtime, so it falls on him… but I digress. I used to focus on my work after hours, also, when I was a teacher, planning lessons and grading for my overloaded English and social studies classes. Now, in a new line of work, my after-hours efforts are more focused on myself, on my writing, trying to make a name for myself in serial fiction or as a blogger—getting a head start on my second act before reaching retirement age. The television, once I am home, is tuned to news as I multitask to keep up with the goings on of the day or for company while pounding away on the keyboard.

I must admit; I felt guilt over the indulgence of watching the drama episode after episode. I have been conditioned over my lifetime to wait to watch until a specific night and time to follow a series. While living in the dorm during college, my roommates and I scheduled our classes to get our daily fix of “All My Children” and huddled in front of the small TV in our common area to watch “Dynasty” on Wednesday evenings together over bowls of air-popped popcorn sprinkled lightly with artificial buttery topping.

However, when I have the time to read a book, I often will consume it in a single setting, foregoing sleep to finish it. Somehow, there is no guilt associated with this practice; it has been my normal since I was a child where there was usually a flashlight tucked away under my pillow to hide my appetite for a good story from my parents’ concerned eyes.

As a new writer of serial fiction—episodes released one, or a few, at a time, I’ve also become a fan of the work of other writers on the site Kindle Vella. The episodes fill the space of a lunch break, filling that same space the Soap Opera used to fill, transporting me to another time or place beyond the break room’s walls.

While it wasn’t my goal when I first began writing my story to make it an episodic drama, I look forward to creating and releasing the next events of my main character’s fictional life. Through her, I address my own worries and fears, overcome life’s challenges, finding joy and healing.

I invite you to try the escape of a good drama when you get, or need, a break; while I would be ecstatic if it was my own, there is something for everyone’s fix on Kindle Vella.

Thank you for reading!

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#serial fiction #binge reading #KindleVella #escape