I was warned about many things before becoming a parent.
The sleep deprivation.
The endless feeds.
The clothes and shoes your baby barely wears because they shoot up faster than a Chinese hospital during a pandemic.
And yes… I was also told the nappies wouldn’t be fun either.
But here’s the thing:
Liam’s nappies weren’t that bad for the first eight months of his life.
Not pleasant, mind you, but not the nose-burning horrors people made them out to be. I didn’t gag. I didn’t cry. I wasn’t praying for sweet release every time I heard that ominous strain.
That is, until he graduated from formula. 🤦
The moment real food and cow’s milk entered the picture?
Let’s just say Lady Laura and I have since lived in a constant state of dread.
And yes, we absolutely keep score of how many we change.
Petty, yes.
Fair? Absolutely.
The phrase “death by a thousand cuts” comes to mind, only I’d make one minor yet important change:
“Death by a thousand nappies.”
Much more apt.
But let’s be frank with myself:
Nappies might be my current trial, but yours could be juggling three jobs, working graveyard shifts, or dealing with in-laws who believe garlic causes cancer. I’m under no illusions that there are folks out there carrying far heavier burdens than changing a few dirty diapers every day.
"The worst thing that’s ever happened to you is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you."
Or so the saying goes.
Same thing is true with my characters.
In The Divided Region, everyone’s got their own demons, their own burdens that — while fictional — mirror the crap life sometimes throws at us in the real world (literally and figuratively).
Take Darius, the protagonist.
He was once a prince and rightful heir to his kingdom, Vlencia.
He was also a rising star in the elite Crimson Guard — the most prestigious military order in the territory — until a certain betrayal (no spoilers) shatters his world and sends his life into a nosedive, leaving him exiled and reduced to nothing more than a streetwise thief.
He raids.
He robs.
He survives — sometimes barely.
And though he hates what he’s become, he’s also painfully aware that crawling out of the gutter requires more than just hope.
It demands gold, and lots of it.
Gold he hasn’t got.
But that could all change if he agrees to take on the guild’s most daring raid in its multi-decade history.
The question is… will he?
Find out in Book #1 of Exiled (available in e-book and audiobook) here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Exiled
Sure, Darius would agree that nappies aren’t pleasant, but he’d also likely say:
“Try sharing a lice-ridden bunkhouse with seven unwashed outlaws for a thousand nights. Then talk to me.”
Touché, prince. Touché.
DJJW