Deja Vu or Freaky Friday

Is she living my life?

It feels like it.

A mystery publication gave me a book to review. From the first page it felt so familiar. In this novel the author described my youngest son, used his name, placed him in his favorite situation and that was just the opening scene. The book is set in an agrarian setting (much like my home town) with a heroine who is a farmer and a biker. The author graduated from a Mennonite college -- like my husband. And the author as well as her protagonist sound remarkably like a former editor who was also Mennonite and affiliated with bikers during her adventurous life. Even her disease of choice hits close to home.

When I perused the author's webpage, I saw an interview conducted by my personal hero and former colleague at the newspaper where I worked and first grew into the title: writer. The author presides over a writing group in the heart of my old stomping grounds surrounded by local writers with whom I had attended writing meetings back when I lived in the land where I belonged.

And she's doing readings in my favorite libraries in my home landscape.

Is this what happens when we don't take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself? When we don't follow through on the ideas we start to turn into novels and never complete -- someone else does it?

I'm not saying she has done anything wrong. Not at all. I'm just saying -- she's living my life.

She's living my life! Or at least the life I expected to live in the location where I expected to grow old.

I sent this author a couple of emails and I imagine by now she thinks I'm a stalker or threatening lawsuit. Nope. Nope. Nope. I am just dazed and shocked and suddenly aware of how far from my expected life I have wandered. Talk about synchronicity and the butterfly effect.

Maybe it is time I at least finished those novels I started. See if maybe I can recoup a bit of my life before the fates hand her my story ideas, too. But if I write in characters based on my own family and experiences -- will it sound like I'm copying her?

The universe is shrinking and we are all connected. Now I'm wondering just how connected are we? It has been a Freaky Friday.

By the way, the novel is great. I think mine would be better -- but the funny thing is -- publishers don't sell unfinished novels.

I definitely need to finish those earlier efforts. Maybe this is the motivation I need -- is the universe telling me something? I'll pass along any other messages the universe hits me over the head with.