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| Beautiful books & wine missing smiling faces.... |
I woke up this morning and could have immediately kicked
myself. Not for waking up. That’s a good thing! But for what I didn’t do last
night. You see, I have this wonderful critique group,
T.J. Bennett,
Wanda Dionne,
Joni Rodgers and
Colleen Thompson. (You should check out their books for some great reads!) We meet, regularly; all
of us try to get together twice a month. We read and discuss pages of current
writing projects, which is good, but we also talk the writing biz and sometimes
that is what is so sorely needed … a place and people to talk to about the
vicissitudes of the writing life, the changes in our fortunes as we wend our
way, each of us on our journey. We talk over our struggles to fit our writing
lives into our other life responsibilities, like the demands of family and
other employment. Sometimes it’s difficult for someone outside of your field,
whether it’s writing or something else, to understand the particular process
that’s involved, how it works, how and under what conditions it’s accomplished.
Writing a book is like that, requiring of a certain, highly individual process.
There are five of us in my critique group and each of us has a different way of
getting a book done, and because we’re doing the same sort of work in the same
field, we can commiserate, support and encourage each other in ways that are so
meaningful. It’s so relieving when you’re feeling low about your job, to have
somebody, or in this case four somebodies, who are familiar with the territory,
to help you talk the trouble through.
But it’s also thrilling to have four somebodies to celebrate
the highest, most exciting moments, too. I can’t say in words how much it has
meant to me to share the joyful launch of
EVIDENCE OF LIFE with my critique sisters. They were there, literally,
from page one and saw the novel through more incarnations than I can remember.
If my blood, sweat and tears is wrought into every page, so is theirs. They are
tireless, generous and loving midwives to my process, which brings me to our
meeting last night and the reason I’m upset with myself this morning.
Yesterday boxes filled with the final copies of EVIDENCE OF
LIFE came, and the book is beautiful. I held the fruit of all my labor in my
hands. I think I may have danced a little happy dance with it. Earlier this
week, I had picked up the lovely wine bottled in its honor by Gary Rodgers, the
husband of critique partner Joni Rodgers. I knew I was hosting last night’s
critique meeting and I had it all planned. I would serve each of my partners a
signed book and a glass of wine with a frozen blackberry as a condiment. (I have Jerusha, Joni’s lovely daughter to
thank for the condiment idea!) And I did. And it was lovely! But did I take a
picture? Even one photograph to commemorate the occasion? No! Can you believe
it? And it was such a lovely moment, and it won’t ever come again. And all I
have now is this rather sad “morning after” picture … a box of books, a few bottles
of the wine—posed. So sad. So now I’m sending my critique sisters my apologies.
They earned their books and bottles of wine, but I should have made a picture.
They earned that, too. It was a Kodak moment if ever there was one, only Kodak
and I were asleep at the wheel. But before I drag off to sit deeper in my
slough of despond, and in case you’re wondering, the wine was wonderful. And
the frozen blackberry added this little piquant kiss of the summer sun … it was
just lovely! And you didn’t take a picture? No, I didn’t … honestly, what was I
thinking….
