A Merry THANK-YOU to my friends …

Many people talk about how writing is a very personal, individual and isolated activity. It keeps them rooted to a laptop, in a world created on their own. A place without the input or camaraderie that comes with team sports or even working in a cube where coworkers are just on the other side of of a four inch fabric wall — one that doesn’t even reach the ceiling.

I’m posting this exact blog entry here and on my Aimee Laine site because I want readers of both to know just how thankful I am… my writing is not isolated.

Sure, I have to sit in front of my computer to create.

Yes, I am the only one that knows the story and to get it onto paper (or in electronic form), it requires that I take the time out of the day, week or month to create it.

Writing is definitely a me, me, me effort.

But … and there is a BIG HUGE BUT here …

I don’t write alone.

There are lots of figurative fingers at work with me. There are people who stay at my shoulder and give me praise, encouragement, critique, hope, a scowl when I break the rules, a high five when I succeed and a kick in the butt when I create my own epic fail.

These are people I’ve met in person or not, who live in my state or not, who’re in my country … or not. It doesn’t matter where they are because with the Internet, they have become people I’ve counted on and can only hope to have helped in some small measure the same way.

These are the people who make writing a ‘group’ effort… who’re there with me as I create words. I wonder what they’ll say, if they’ll find the humor and the silliness or laugh and cry with me based on what I wrote.

Claire Gillian
From the first pre-draft of Little White Lies to the creation of my second me: Thank you for the laughs, the encouragement to push myself in writing certain **areas** that have only gotten better with your help. Thank you for letting me vent about my woes as a mother, failings and happy moments in querying and for reading all my novels.

Julie Belfield
My guy with a tattoo caught your eye… wonder why? 😉 Ha! Thank you for your willingness to read my stories and for sharing your ‘Sean’ with me! Our similarities are crazy, yet our writing styles are so different I’m never going to go long without something new to read that makes me laugh and want to keep going. We might have 5 hours of time between us, but you’d think it were only minutes.

Reena Jacobs
From start to finish in a 5th draft manuscript in no time flat. Thank you SO much for putting your ‘critiquer’ on hold and your ‘reader’ hat on to read Hide and Seek. I can only hope to give you as much feedback on Shadow Cat and can’t wait to see it in print (or on my new KINDLE!)

Kris Fullbrook
For reading EVERY one of my novels at 1st or 2nd draft and finding ALL those crazy places where I cannot get my real thoughts out and showing me “the way”, then reading it again, and again, and again until I got it. And for throwing your kids’ in for reference in the myths creation in Mystic Therapy way back when. Thank you!

My Scribophile friends
For ALL the writing, reading and tremendous help: Babs Griswold (for reading the entire Hide and Seek after you spent a Sunday reading the first 6 chapters), Charlie Thomas* (for struggling through early drafts of Little White Lies), Jessica Leake (for ALL of them!), jdfield (for reading Romance just for me!), Julie Reece (for all those early chapters and more and all those amazing nitpicks!), CelesteG* (for reading Mystic all the way through!), and to my newest favorite helpers who’ve dived into my latest attempt in the YA arena … Casper Steven, Jocelyn Adams, JennH, Chloe Anna, Stephanie Sims and Andy.

My Beta readers
AngieC, JohnsieM., NicoleZ., HollyA., StephanieM., SusanD. and all my new First Kiss(es) teens who’re reading right now!

And Finally …
And of course to my biggest fan ever (my hubby!)… you are the best. Thank you for never calling me crazy … except when you really mean it. 🙂

Thank you, to all of you. 🙂

Here is to a rock solid 2011. ::cheers::