Reading: Lover Avenged by J.R Ward
Listening to: Glenn Miller (would you believe - no heavy Metal)
Watching: nothing - deadline looming
Making me smile: This Blog and the people responding
When I was younger I had lots of friends. The fact they were only 3 inches high, dressed in bright clothing and no one but me could see them didn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong, I did have human friends and four legged friends too, but sometime I preferred the company of my little folk more. I would talk to them for hours, teach them things and tell them stories. Of course they all adored me and did whatever I asked them to. Looking back, I guess the writer in me was beginning to bud, though it would not fully bloom many years later.
And when my writing desire blossomed, I met two of the LoveCats—Rachel and Mel. We all belonged to the Clayton Critters group which sprung up out of the 2005 RWAus Clayton’s online conference. From the first words I read of both Rachel’s and Mel’s stories, I was in awe. These girls
could write.
Now I’m blogging here with these 6 awesome cat pals:
- Zana I don’t know much—well not yet—she’s a new friend.
- Emily I’ve met as several conference including a spectacular Nationals in San Francisco when she was nominated for 2 Rubys and I was a finalist in the Golden Heart
- Sharon and her lovely Mr Archer have been at every conference I’ve been to except last year and they were sorely missed. Their smiling faces are always a joy. When Sharon sold – I was overjoyed and we shared several celebratory emails.
- Nikki I know a little better. I can’t remember when we met. It feels like I have known her for ages. I actually screamed out loud and danced when I heard she was going to be a Harlequin Romance author. I am very impressed.
- Mel, Rachel and I have bit more history. We’ve shared good news and bad; we’ve laughed and cheered; we’ve vented and cried. We told each other the truth when it needed to be said, and supported each other if one of us was down. We used to dream and say “one day when we are all published... blah blah blah”. And now here we are, together. Old friends are a comfort and a joy. It was almost felt like selling again myself when each of them made their first sales.
What is it that you value in your friendships? Or do you have a special friend who has touched your life in a profound way?
Today's Book Giveways to one lucky commentor: The Earl’s Dilemma, Emily May (in Fate & Fortune, with A Country Miss In Hanover Square, by Anne Herries) Quills / Regency Single Father: Wife & Mother Wanted, Sharon Archer Medical Duo of Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way, Sharon Archer, with Lucy Clark’s Bride on the Children’s Ward Medical Claiming His Bought Bride, Rachel Bailey Desire The Blackmailed Bride’s Secret Child, Rachel Bailey Desire Tonight, My Love, Tracie Sommers Spice Briefs His Housekeeper Bride, Melissa James Harlequin Romance / Sweet Tycoon’s One Night Revenge, Bronwyn Jameson Desire Prince Incognito, Linda Goodnight, including a novella, The Homecoming, Melissa James Harlequin Romance / Sweet Stone Cold Lover, Mel Teshco Ellora's Cave
Great site. Love all the cat pictures, clever theme that won't be forgotten. Good luck to you all Judy O'Connor
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new blog, it's great. Loved the welcome cat.
ReplyDeleteToni
Thank you Judy and Toni for stoping by to visit us. Please cam back and say hello again.
ReplyDeleteI have the Day job to go to, so I may take a little time to come back on an comment.
ReplyDeleteHey Tracie, hope you had a lovely day :)
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the saying: A friend is someone who knows all about you - and loves you anyway.
We're reading the same book (actually I finished yesterday) :o
ReplyDeleteLoving the cats everywhere & the welcome is so cute!
On answering your question - honesty. I also like what Anita has said - so very very true.
Hope you survive the day job (that will be me tomorrow *lol*).
Meow :-)
Oh Tracie what another fab post! Friends are the people that can make you smile and laugh when you feel like crying! But mostly, I think friends are those you can always be at ease with no matter how long since you last were together. Most of my best friends live far away unfortunately but it doesn't seem like we've ever been apart when we are together :)
ReplyDeleteRach!
Hi Tracie!
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures you've got with your blog - couldn't be more perfect for your topic!
It sounds like your story-telling skills started early and kept on blossoming! When I was reading, it reminded me that I used to make up scary bedtime stories and tell them to my younger sister after the light was turned off. Gosh, she must have been so pleased when we got separate rooms! LOL
It was just gorgeous that you were so thrilled for me when I sold, Tracie. I remember feeling exactly the same way when you sold - AND you had to keep it under wraps at that conference! It's a wonder you didn't explode from the pressure of your pent up excitement!
:)
Sharon
And I meant to say, good luck with those revisions, Tracie!
ReplyDeletehugs
Sharon
Tracie,
ReplyDeletethanks for that gorgeous post. I count my writing friends as my dearest, sharing the same passion, the same up and downs on that road to publication. I'm so very happy our dreams have come true =)
Go Cats!!! (g)
Mel - I couldn't help grinning when I read your comment because "Go Cats!" is what the followers shout for my dh's beloved AFL team - the Geelong Cats. So I've got this picture in my head now of a huge crowd enthusiastically shouting "GO CATS!"
ReplyDelete:)
Sharon
Tracie, what a great post! Such a great amble down memory lane to when you, Mel and I met. And then I met Sharon and Emily and Zana and Nikki. You really do meet the best friends in the writing community!
ReplyDeleteSharon, I love your visual of a whole stadium-sized crowd shouting, "GO CATS!". I'm sure they'd do it for us too if they'd ever met us. ;)
Interesting post Tracie! Am loving this blog. GO CATS!!
ReplyDeleteLike Rach Johns lots of the people I count close friends live far away - does that say something about me?
My closest friends are the ones I can be myself around. That said I have friends who nurture different sides of me. Writing friends, mothers group friends, uni/school friends, family friends and my two sisters, my mother-in-law (yep am insane) and my hubby who are family but also friends (hopefully my kiddos add to this list when we get through school-teenagerness etc). They're all important!
Oh, yes! I remember that conference, Tracie. San Francisco 2008. An exciting, overwhelming experience!
ReplyDeleteFriends ... I think some of the best friends I've made have been my writing friends. We're all *weird* in the same way, with our heads full of characters and plots and snippets of scenes and conversations. Not normal at all!
I have a friend, Nancy, who I can always depend on. We have been friends for years. We were both divorced raising our kids on our own, and they played soccer together. When I couldn't get off work to take my daughter to the out of town games, Nancy would always take my daughter with them and made sure she was well taken care of. We always had each other to cry on when things went bad. She is someone I could call in the middle of the night if I just needed to talk. She has been a wonderful friend.
ReplyDeleteAw Tracie - lovely post. I have different groups of friends - my writing buddies, my old uni buddies, my extended family, old work friends - all who help me along the path of life. My writing buddies help me keep focused on writing but also is there for so much. Sharing ups and downs, good news & bad.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I don't know where I'll be without them. I have the lovely SARAs, the Bootcamper gals, and other RWAus members whom I've gotten to know via cyberspace over the years like members of the LoveCats (hee I just heard the tune to The Love Shack in my head as I typed LoveCats).
Oh and the support I got via Eleni-fest in October was just unbelievable. The writing pals 'get' me. We can use shorthand to talk to eachother & they don't think it's weird that I hear voices in my head. :)
Have a great day Kitties.
PS - Tracie - no heavy metal - Glen Miller? I'm astounded ;)
Hi Tracie and LoveCats
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great blog, interesting topics, great blog entries and so many great cat pics. Love todays - stick with me kid. Friendship is such an amazing thing and so valueable. I am lucky enough to have friends I made in kindy unfortunately as life tends to do we have now moved on to different paths and don't catch up as much as I'd like. I think the saying that friends know all about you and still love you is so apt. I've been doing a lot of soulsearching lately and come up with a couple of conclusions - one being the people you can be 'real' with are gold. So for me my truly wonderful and dearest friends are the people who know the real me and cheer me on.
All the best
Tracey
Lovely post, Tracie. I've made so many wonderful friends through RWA and the writing community and while some people might find it a little strange to call people you've never met in *real life* good friends, it's true!
ReplyDeleteAnd like you with Mel and Rachel, my CPs and I got together when we were all starting out and used to say, "Won't it be amazing when we are all published authors..."
Hey Tracie and the other love-cats!
ReplyDeleteAgain - Great blog!
Like others, my friends are departmentalised, family, writing friends, friends from around the world in different places I have lived, and the all important support system friends. One collects 'friends' - but few are those type that are there, in your space - no matter what.
You know, the ones that you can call on any time to help.
To be there when none of your family is near. The one who 's name is included on your cars insurance policy because she drives your car when needed...I have the bestest friend like that - and it works both ways - we are there for each others. My friends name is Sue, and although we don't go out and do lunch, shop or do other girlie things together and generally get on with our own lives, I wouldn't trade her for the moon. To me, she is precious and is the cats-meaow!
Looking forward to tomorrows post - this blog is such fun!
Bye 4 now
Tina
I love the pic on today's post.
ReplyDeleteMy mum would have to be my biggest support and friend. Supported my writing when it was a hobby and has continued through to what it is today, an all out obsession.
I think a friend is just someone who is there when you need them. No matter how much time may pass inbetween.
Great blog. I'm looking forward to tomorrows theme.
Tam
Anita - yes - real friends see you at your best and your worst and still be there for you.
ReplyDeleteNicky - I am ready 2 pages a night - so very slow going for me. :) yes I like Anita's saying too.
ReplyDeleteRachel, most of my friends are online these days. The internet has made it so we can talk to our friends everyday even if they are on the other side of the world.
ReplyDeleteMe I agree - most of my friends tend be writers now - except my hubby who is my copy editor (because I need it).
ReplyDeleteAnd I also agree with Sharon - Go Cats - reminds me of Geelong FC as well. But I say "Go Cats"
Rachel - it is lovely remember those carefree days - sigh. Seriously - writing this post made me remember back then and how far we have come since then.
ReplyDeleteBecca - I am quite friendly with my Mother-in-law too which is really nice. Your best friends see you naked - and I don't mean without clothes - I mean your true self. It's nice. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteEmily - I remember running into you in that amazing store on the corner up from the conference hotel. I think every Aussie and Kiwi visited that store.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - when you start talking about fictional characters like they are real people other writers don't even bat an eye.
We are all crazy - and don't we love it. I love the saying "I may be going mad - but atleast I'm enjoying the ride."
Linda,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you and Nancy have been your safe ports in a storm. It's lovely to have someone so special. Hang onto your friend and let her know how much she means to you. A hug is nice :)
Elani,
ReplyDeleteSweetie you are a lovely and supportive friend too. Elani-fest was the best. When Love Cats was suggested - I was singing the "Love Cat" song by the Cure for days. And sometime is would morph into Love Shack.
And yes - shock horror - not listening to Rammstein or Inkkubus Sukkubus at the moment.
I thought of The Cure too... it was one of my wedding songs...
ReplyDeleteTracey,
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love that pick. It reminds me of two of my cats. My boys called them Puss and Mini-puss because the younger was like the apprentice.
And I totally agree that the people you can be yourself with are the people you want to keep close forever.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how people who hav3e not formed close freindships online think you can't possible know a persone unless you have physically met. But with writer's sometimes the only way to have contact, a meeting of minds so to speak, is via the internet. Some of my most dearwst freinds are internet friends. I think you say more on line that you may be comfortable telling someone face to face. So in some ways we may know each other better.
Tina I think the best friends are the ones you don't need to see daily. They are the ones who when you haven't seen each other for some period of time, it is like you have never been apart.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the cats-meaow.
Okay, this is is going to be a paraphrase but you'll know what I mean....
ReplyDelete“A good friend will come bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you in the cell saying...'Damn, that was fun!'”
LOL. That's how you know!
Tamara,
ReplyDeleteThat is so lovely you have such a wonderful relationship with your Mum. My Mum is my biggest fan too.
I have a cousin who I may not see for years - and yet when we get together it was like we have never been apart.
Becca - how cool. I love that song. Did you march down the ailse to Love Cats?
ReplyDeleteWell people - I have to actually do some revisions. Thank you all for visiting and sharing your freinds with us. come back and see who has won the fabulous prize tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOf course how can I forget The Cure's Love Cats. LOL! Now I associate two songs with you all!! :))
ReplyDeleteTracie - hope your revisions go well.
Nikki - LOL that reminded me of a couple of great sayings.
ReplyDeleteA real friends holds your hair when you're chucking up.
And my favorite - the TRUTH about Friends -
When you are scared, ...
I will take the piss about it every chance I get.
When you are worried, ...
I will tell you horrible stories about how much
worse it could be and to quit whining.
When you are confused, ...
I will use little words to explain it to your dumb ass.
When you are sick, ...
Stay the hell away from me until you're well again.
I don't want whatever you have.
When you fall, ...
I will point and laugh at you.
This is my oath, ...I pledge till the end.
Why you may ask? Because you're my friend !
Here I am trying to slay my Procrastination dragon, and the Love Cats launch themselves into cyberspace, with a great bunch of writers, interesting blog topics, giveaways and fabulous Love Cat pictures!
ReplyDeleteFriends - my old buddies from school have merged into the background with an occasional appearance on facebook as we move further into life with only a shared education to hold it together. My family is scattered all around the place, and I've never been big on making phone calls.
But it's the friends I've made in the last ten years, since I started taking this writing business seriously who I count as my real friends. My writing buddies - the ones that I've met briefly in real life but have a fantastic online banter with, the ones that I have a strong online friendship but have yet to meet in person, and my writing group buddies who sustain me monthly. My writing buddies get me, laugh at my bouts of insanity, support me through crises of writing faith and kick my butt when it needs kicking. I wouldn't be where I am today (where's that again?) without them, including the lovely author of this post, Ms. T. Thank you, everyone.
Diane - you keep me sane. I love that you are there for me to talk to. And yes - in different periods of out life we tend to have different kinds of friends. My writing friends of today and my friends I work with are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteEleni,
ReplyDeleteNow you will be singing it to. The other song has be Cool for Cats - which is another great one.
Hi
ReplyDeleteGreat to see people living the writer's dream. I am new to creative writing and none of my friends are writers (although hoping to make some!!), so this is a whole new world for me.
Some of my friends think it is absolutely hilarious that I am trying my hand at writing romance. Interestingly, it is my great, long-term school friends who think it is fantastic. They are reading drafts, proofing, making suggestions - it's great to have their feedback. Although they are convinced the stories contain autobiographical details and keep asking, 'when and who with' questions. They are positive that I was (before getting married) leading an exciting double life of hot men and racy sex in glamourous locations.
I went to buy Rachel's book the other day but it wasn't in my local Big W store (I am still researching which line to write for - Sexy, Desire or Sexy Senation?!?!?). Will keep trying.
Good luck and thanks for a great site.
Jennifer St G
Hi Jennifer! How fabulous that your long-standing friends are so supportive. True friends for sure! Good luck with your writing.
ReplyDeleteSorry you couldn't find my book - it will be in Australian shops from February 15. It's currently out in the US but Aust & NZ are one month behind in releases. Thanks for looking!
Hi Rachel
ReplyDeleteOh, that's why I couldn't find it. Will whizz to the shops on Feb 15.
Thanks
Jennifer