I bet if you were to ask authors what’s on the top of their wish lists, the majority would say they want to get that big contract that finally lets them quit their day jobs. Or they want to be number one on all the best-seller lists. Maybe even see one of their books turned into a movie or television series.
I’ll admit all those things are on my author wish list, but they’re not number one. I’m a simple, practical gal at heart, which is why my number one wish is for something a little unusual – bionic wrists.
Yep, you read that right. I want bionic wrists of the na-na-na! kind a la the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman. Why, you ask? Well, with bionic wrists, I could reach my full potential as an author. I could type five or ten or even fifteen thousand words a day without pesky things like carpal tunnel interfering.
Typing thirty thousand words in a weekend? No problem with bionic wrists! Signing hundreds of bookmarks at one time? A piece of cake! Plus, bionic wrists would come in handy should I ever have to judo chop a bad guy into submission or hurl a bomb into the upper atmosphere to keep it from exploding around a bunch of innocent people. Hey, it could happen.
Some might scoff at my dream of bionic wrists. Wish for that big money contract, some folks might say, and then you can buy yourself some bionic wrists. Nonsense, I would reply. Give me the bionic wrists first, and I’ll write so many books so fast that my evil plan of world domination will practically fulfill itself. All Jennifer Estep books, all the time, brought to you courtesy of bionic wrists. Wha-ha-ha!
Of course, bionic wrists aren’t the only thing that I long for. There’s the reader side of me, which has its own wish list. I’d love more books by my favorite authors like Donald Westlake, Robin McKinley, and Ian Fleming (even though he’s no longer with us). A new title every two weeks would be a good place to start.
I also long to find new authors I enjoy as much as my old favorites. I want to discover more and more and more of them, until I have so many great authors and books that I never have another reading slump ever again. I’d also like to clear my mind of all the great books I’ve read, so I could go back and fall in love with them for the first time all over again.
And, of course, I’d have to have bionic eyes that never get tired of reading and allow me to see every single word in high definition.
What about you? What do you wish for as an author or reader? Share in the comments and be creative. You already know what’s at the top of my list. Na-na-na! 
I’m in the “quit the day job” camp. If I could shift my writing time to those hours and my reading into the time I currently spend writing, I’d be a happy camper.
Aside from that, I wish I could manipulate time so I had 36 hours in a day so I could do everything that needs to be done and also get a decent amount of sleep because, speaking from experience, both can’t be done with the standard 24.
by Kerry Allen August 28th, 2008 at 6:51 amOh, yes, dear God, please, bionic wrists!
As for that other stuff, I’m used to working with out financial compensation or appreciation outside my own family. I’m a stay-at-home mom
. I only want to share my stories with people who will enjoy them. 
by Kimber An August 28th, 2008 at 8:11 amKerry — Me too. I’d love to be able to rearrange my schedule like you mention. More reading and writing time would be awesome. And I could always use more sleep.
Kimber — I think sharing stories and entertaining others is the ultimate goal of every writer. I love making people laugh, and I always hope folks get a chuckle or two when they read one of my books.
by Jennifer Estep August 28th, 2008 at 8:27 amA magic butt-shrinking chair. I think Ellen was on to something with her hula-chair on her show. If that actually worked and didn’t look so silly, it would be the best invention ever.
How about writing confidence glasses? You put them on and no longer see only your writing mistakes, but all the brilliant parts.
by Jess Granger August 28th, 2008 at 9:03 amMy wrists are holding up, but I wish I had better neck, shoulder and back muscles.
Or a keyboard that burned dozens of calories per keystroke?
I’m not looking for the NYT best seller list; I’d settle for seeing my book at the grocery store.
As a reader: more hours in the day to read, and of course, as has been mentioned, faster output by my favorite authors.
by Terry Odell August 28th, 2008 at 11:39 amJess — How funny! But I could definitely use one of those chairs.
Confidence glasses would be good too. Especially if you could slip them on someone while they were reading your work.
Terry — I’d love a keyboard like that. Wouldn’t that be an awesome motivator to sit down and write every day?
by Jennifer Estep August 28th, 2008 at 12:57 pmOoh, bionic wrists… that’s a good one. I would never have thought of it, lol
by Ali August 28th, 2008 at 5:51 pmHow about bionic eyes… so I can be a speed reader, wouldn’t need glasses, and my eyes wouldn’t tire. That way, I can finally start to see the bottom of my tbr pile,
Ooo, ooo! Superspeed so I could whip through the first draft of all my WIPs, and the ability to squash self-doubt with nothing more than my thumb.
by catie August 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pmI guess I would need a bionic brain if I had bionic wrists. Even when everything is really flowing with me, my fingers can usually keep up with my brain. Instead of bionic wrists, give me the six million for the maid and cook so I can spend those hours writing. Heck, I’d settle for someone to do the laundry. That would add hours to my writing time.
by Susan Kelley August 28th, 2008 at 8:41 pmI’d have to pretty much ditto what Terry said - seeing my books at the supermarket would be fab, heck, I’d even stand in the frozen food section to sign them!
Maybe someone should invent a chair/machine that exercises your lower half while you type. Think six million would cover it?
by Anne Carter August 28th, 2008 at 8:49 pmI’d like to type as fast as I can think. And burn calories like your superhero Fiera in Hot Mama! Kerry’s 36 hours in a day would be good too.
by Edie August 28th, 2008 at 11:24 pmDarn it, Jennifer, if it was only good wrists I needed I’d be writing three books a week. Sadly the brain is not that fertile — it needs three months to write one (and that’s a stretch). Bionic eyes would help — mine tend to give out after about 2,000 words a day — but what I really need is a bionic brain.
by Liz August 29th, 2008 at 12:43 pm