There are moments in life to remember.

I tend to
gather these moments like presents under a Christmas tree, opening
them, rejoicing in their glory, then mentally rewrapping them and
hiding them away in some recess of my brain to bring out and enjoy over
and over again.

I had one of these moments Monday night.

Monday was a
big day for us, to say the least. Let me extend a warm thank you to
everyone who has supported Killer Year – believe me, we couldn’t do any
of this without you.

So after a
long, happy day, I made a big pot of chili, cut up some jalapeno
cornbread and sat down with Hubby to watch Monday Night Football. I
wanted to bear witness — the Saints triumphant return to New Orleans.
(By the way, someone buy the Saints’ special teams a drink!)

The pre-show caught me off guard.

Music Rising,
the organization started by US’s The Edge to help bring music back to
New Orleans, sponsored the show. With a jubilant horn serenade, Green Day
took the stage. Now, here’s where we start with the memory moments.
Green Day is a personal talisman for me. Every time I hear their song Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), something good happens. Corny, but true.

They took the stage and opened strong, with The Edge playing guitar. Then Bono joined them. And I started thinking about that phone call.

“Hey, Billie
Joe. U2 wants you to fly to London, record some tunes, then go live on
Monday Night Football in New Orleans for the pre-game show.”

Uh, yeah.
Think they thought about that for more than a millisecond? I mean,
let’s face it. The Baby Boomers have the Rolling Stones, and The
Beatles, and well, Cat Stevens. My generation has U2. We win, hands down.

As the
melded bands played an original composition combining “House of New
Orleans” and “Beautiful Day”, I teared up, enjoyed the show and the
message. When my goose bumps finally packed suitcases and went on
vacation, I marked my mental moment. Then I started thinking about
mentors.

Now, I’m assuming here, but roll with me.

I’d be
willing to bet that Green Day views U2 as an iconic band. Perhaps now
they even view them as mentors in their musical careers. To have the
greatest of the great want to work with you is a humbling experience.
I’m sure they jumped at the chance. 

That’s how
we feel about our Killer Year mentors. We were overwhelmed at the
prospect – the best minds in our industry would mentor us? As Marcus
Sakey said, “I grew up on books these people wrote. I never dreamed they’d one day be helping with my own.”

He summed it
up perfectly. These are our heroes, these giants of the mystery and
thriller genres. And they’ve agreed to help us, show us the ropes,
share their considerable insight into the publishing game? Would
someone mind pinching me, please???

Thanking ITW
for this amazing opportunity isn’t enough. I’d like to take it one step
further. At the risk of sounding too much like a Girl Scout, a promise.

A promise to
pay attention. A promise to listen before we speak. A promise to take
the considerable time and attention being paid the Class of 2007 and
give back to the Class of 2008 and beyond, if they’d like it. A promise
that we’ll be the best mentees we can be, and always, always promise to
do our best.

And on a more personal note, I promise to stop waxing poetic in my blog posts.

Safe travels to all of you heading to Madison
today and tomorrow. I know you’re going to have a wonderful time, and
I’m bummed I won’t be there. And if you see your mentor, tell them
thank you.

Do you have a mentor story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it!