Freelance writer Goya Lan is single by happenstance.

A typical Taurus, she always took a prudent path through life. She did well at school and made a normal entrance into the working world. In her 20s, all was smooth sailing in both her career and love life. Her boyfriend of many years had taken her home to meet his parents, and marriage was mooted. But then he cheated on her, and the betrayal hit her like a club to the head: "I'm the kind of person who looks inward to ask what I did wrong. What I came to realize is that, no matter how much you pour into a relationship, it can change."

Wounded in love, she poured herself all the more energetically into her work, and became the competent sort of career woman that a company could always depend on. But then, with a promotion in the offing, she quit her job.

The death of a teacher she greatly admired made her realize that dreams wait for no one: "I was spending all that time at work, but the rest of my life was a big zero."

With no clear plan other than to go far away and clear her mind, she moved off to Martinborough, New Zealand, where a relative was living.

Martinborough is located in the picturesque New Zealand wine country. There she would ride her bicycle every day to visit wine houses and vineyards to chat with the people there, and sometimes do a bit of temporary work. After a year, she recovered her zest for life and wrote her first book-Quitting Work and Heading to New Zealand.

Having courageously sidestepped the standard lifestyle of job and marriage, Goya Lan enjoys life to the fullest, such as traveling the world. The picture above was taken in Christchurch, New Zealand, while the one on the opposite page was taken on the Luye Plateau, Taitung County.

Goya eventually returned to her old job in Taiwan and threw herself once again headlong into her work, but quit the job for good after a year and a half. "After spending time in the wine country, I knew myself much better, and knew what direction I wanted my life to take. I wanted to follow my heart." The skills and personal connections built up during her many years in the working world stood her in good stead now that she was embarking on a new career as an author.

With her new life came a sweet romance with a man from another country. "When you are able to control your time, you enjoy a better quality of life and a better state of mind. And when you're in that space, the quality of your intimate relations also goes up." Even so, the relationship did eventually come to an end.

When her boyfriend started making plans to return to his home country, the two couldn't come to terms on what country their children would grow up in. "Most women in that situation would have just gone wherever her man asked, or might perhaps have 'accidentally' gotten pregnant and left themselves no choice."

In order to maintain her lifestyle and her momentum as an author, Goya conducted the romance at a distance for a year, but the couple agreed to split up in the end.

Goya feels it fortunate that she decided to go her own way. "That's the only reason I've been able to have so many interesting and meaningful experiences, and ride my bicycle all over the world." And more importantly, being single and free has afforded her the chance to get to know her parents on a deeper level.

Earlier this year, recalls Goya, both of her parents were hospitalized, and among her siblings she was the only one able to set everything aside immediately and rush to the hospital to stay by their side. "I learned all sorts of things about my parents' past, and they became a lot more understanding and open toward me."

Over the past year, Goya has even come to enjoy "homemaking" bliss of a sort. "It used to be that the old folks would always be after me to hurry up and get married, have babies, and buy a home, or better yet, find a rich husband to give me a home. But the thought that occurred to me was: I've got good earning power, so why not set up a nice home for myself?"

Early last year, Goya worked with a professional to design the interior decor for a 30-ping (100-square-meter) apartment. Working on the project got her to thinking: What is actually necessary in life? What kind of future do I want?

In her newly redecorated home, Goya has the freedom to completely enjoy her solitude, to concentrate on her writing, and to experiment with cooking. And every now and then, she'll have friends over. "They all say my apartment is better than a five-star hotel!"

Yes, Goya is in several relationships-with the characters in her writing, her parents, her home, and the changing scenery in the lands she travels through.