I had a fortune cookie this week. The slip of paper said —
“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you become.”
I smiled when I read it, knowing that it was quite apropos
for my life right now. It’s a wonderful indicator of how I’m feeling today. The
past few months have been a whirlwind of good news. And this week, I received
some more.
You may already know, but Killer Year will have an anthology
of short stories coming out from St. Martin’s Minotaur in Winter, 2008, which
will be edited by the venerable Lee Child. Pretty damn cool. Let me take this
moment to say THANK YOU to all the Killer Year members, the mentors, MJ Rose
and Scott Miller, for helping, advising, and getting things done.
Once again, the industry has smiled upon us newcomers. It
has become readily apparent that this community feeds on its good will toward
others. We must all be floating on some sort of cosmic karma bubble, because
the more involved I become, the more I see this.
Established authors help new authors. Big presses do favors
for small presses. New authors band together to help each other and in so
doing, start to raise awareness for their books, their personalities, their
careers. New groups of debut authors have been formed — my favorite is The
Debutante Ball, the new women’s fiction group. There’s also the young adult
authors of 2007, who are doing some amazing work for each other.
Hubby and I had the distinct pleasure of hosting Pari
Taichert in our home and fine city this week. You think the Internet does Pari
justice? Think again. Irrepressible is the best term I can come up with. We
stayed up much too late two nights in a row, drinking a lovely McWilliams’s
Shiraz I’ve been keeping back for months for the occasion. We talked a lot
about this industry, about the future of our careers, about blogging in general
and Murderati in particular. And I realized something.
We ALL want success, and we ALL want to see our friends succeed.
And as long as we keep that in mind, this industry, genre fiction, mysteries
and thrillers, will continue to thrive and grow.
And I’m just so damn honored to be a part of it with you.
Oh, and that fortune? I promptly spilled Diet Dr. Pepper on
the paper and had to rush to save it. I hope that’s an indicator of what my
career has in store for me. Ups, downs, highs, lows, but all around, dreams
fulfilled.
Wine of the Week — The McWilliam’s Shiraz, of course.
With Killer Year, it seems the stars have aligned in a manner that only occurs once in a long while. Fourteen authors–each with enormous individual talents–have come together to form something that’s both unique and special.
Congratulations to the entire Killer Year class. And a special mention to JT, whose enthusiasm, can-do attitude, and many talents have helped to propel KY into the spotlight where it belongs.
Oh, J.T.,Have you caught up on your sleep yet?
I don’t want to say too much about my hostess and host in Nashville for fear that EVERYONE will want a free ride. But, I did have a stupendous time.
Let me also echo J.T.’s comments about our community: by far, most of our kin want the best for each other. This is a rare and woundrous thing.
AND, congrats on the anthology. Long may Killer Year reign!
“And I’m just so damn honored to be a part of it with you.”
Au contraire, darling J.T. – we’re honored to be a part of it with YOU.
My thoughts about the KY group? Fantastic! We could all take notice of their boundless energy! When I begin to fade – I slip on their terrific t-shirt and I’m energized.
We installed super telekinetic powers in those shirts…One took Barry Eisler all the way around the world… well, almost all the way.http://www.barryeisler.com/photo_requiem.php
Oh, hell. A spelling and a punctuation error in one tiny post?
I’m going back to bed.
Oh, hell, Pari!I have speling and punctution erros al the tme.
Elaine,You crack me up.
J.T.,Yours remains a wonderful post.
J.T. huge congrats on the anthology! You’re an inspiration to all of us.
And a humble thank you for the shout-out on the Ball. We shall name a dance in your honor…
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