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Last evening I drove with three writer friends, Sarah Andre,
Jo Anne Banker and Kay Hudson to the release party for Shana Galen’s WHEN YOU
GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND. Hosted by Katy Budget Books, it was a wonderful event with
champagne, cake, chocolate dipped strawberries and goodie bags filled with
signed historical paperbacks, booksmarks, “real” diamond rings, body jewels and
chocolate.
I wish I could say we arrived promptly at 6:00 when Shana began her
talk, but we didn’t get there until well into the Q&A. Given we’d driven an
hour and a half in rush hour traffic, our tardiness was forgiven.
Why, you may ask, did we drive that far and that long on a Monday night for a
book signing? Because that’s what friends do. And many of the writers I’ve met
through my local RWA chapters are indeed my friends.
And we weren’t the only chapter members to show up. Sophie Jordan, Ana Walker and Nicole Flockton were also there. After the signing,
Sarah, Jo Anne and I took Kay out to dinner for her birthday. Sometime in the
evening we remarked that if it wasn’t for writing and RWA, the four of us would never
have crossed paths, and yet we’re sharing a journey non-writers find it hard to
understand. Who in her right mind spends thousands of hours, years of her life
in front of a keyboard pouring her heart and soul into a stories that may never
be published? Yup, we do. Who subjects themselves to harsh criticism by contest
judges, agents, editors and, if we’re lucky enough to get published, reviewers
in pursuit of a career? We do.
Family and civilian friends support us, but after a couple
of years with no books out on the shelves, they wonder if we’re crazy, lazy or
delusional about our writing ability. Our writer friends understand the piles
of rejections, the early manuscripts tucked under beds, the disappointment
when our agent can’t sell a story we both love. They also share the triumphs of
a contest win, a “full” request, an offer of representation from an agent, a
book contract, and the release of a new book and a new series. One writer friend, Pat O'Dea Rosen, even agreed to be a part of this blog!
My writer friends and I would never have met in our real lives for a thousand different
reasons (age, geography, work, lifestyle, just to name a few) and yet they have
become some of the most meaningful relationships in my life. In no other
profession have I experienced the generosity, the willingness to help a newcomer along, the encouragement and empathy I have with these women. To all my
writer friends I say—Thank you! You’re the best!
