W.A.G.

So, back in September 2002, I wrote something. It was a little bit witty, so I forwarded it via email to a few friends. The next day I wrote another thing. And forwarded that too. By the middle of September I had written many, many words and the few friends I had at that time were be inundated with my thoughts.

Not knowing what exactly they were to do with these unsolicited emails, I'm sure most folks just deleted them. Some, however, forwarded them on to their friends. Who forwarded them on to their friends. And so on.

And then. Then? On September 23? I received a manila envelope with all my emails printed out. And marked up with red pen. And those red-penned notes? Were encouraging. The red ink? Underlined particularly clever phrases and added check marks. The red ink? Spelled out "good" in the columns. The red ink? Put stars next to paragraphs that had deep thoughts in them.

Those red markings? Where the greatest gift I received that year.
The wielder of that red pen?
A total stranger who had been receiving my emails randomly from a friend.
The wielder of that red pen?
Was Chris.
She encouraged me to keep writing. Sent me $50 to attend the Surrey Writer's Conference. And invited me to join her newly formed Writing Group based out of TWU. We had never met.

From that beginning, we ended up becoming good friends. Well, how could we not? Seriously. We both love words. And after that first writing group kinda fizzled, we formed another one... the Write Away Gang. We (Chris, Jenn, Andrea and I) met in Spring 2004 and at that first meeting I was introduced to the world's greatest invention: blogs. By June, I had my own. (About a year later, Rachel joined our motley matronly crew.)

Anyways, All That To Say - our little writing group is having a good year...

Chris is celebrating the publication of her first book, Shadowed in Silk. (It's available as an e-book right now, and will be in paperback format on Sept 1.)

Because I don't have a Kindle, I'm going to have to wait til September to read it. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to read her blog and see how God has had His hand all over this project.

AND then, like it's contagious or something, Jenn got her book published as well!

You can get it in e-format OR in a hold-in-your-hand book from Amazon.
I got my copy yesterday and read it today. Yeah, it was a rainy Saturday, so I stayed in my pajamas all day and read. And read and read.
Guys? It was awesome.
It's YA (Young Adult - like Twilight or Hunger Games) and I got all caught up in Gemma and Henry's lives. I am so very much looking forward to the second book in this series.
If you want to know a little bit more about this friend of mine, she's been doing blog interviews. Here are 10 random facts about her:
(From ebookocracy)

1. I love Oreo cookies. The American kind, not the Canadian kind. There is a difference. (Sorry, Canada.)
2. I collect rubber ducks. All kinds. My 6-year-old and I often quack to one another, a habit my 9-year-old finds embarrassing when we’re quacking on the way up the street to the school. 
3. I hated the movie E.T. Please don’t firebomb my house for this. Really? An alien who likes candy?
4. I have the signatures of William Shakespeare and Joan of Arc tattooed on my forearms.
5. I am terrified of thunderstorms.
6. I’ve never read Harry Potter. I didn’t want to be accused of stealing anything from JK Rowling.
7. I have a weird fourth toe. My husband calls it my Dr. Seuss toe. We giggle about it often. And I avoid open-toed shoes.
8. I despise broccoli, no matter HOW you prepare it. Dipped in chocolate and gold, it’s still bloody broccoli.
9. I love eating white cake mix before it is baked. (You said random!)
10. I am not known for my vocal talents. When my older two children were little, we were driving home one day and I was belting out some song, and my son, then 4-1/2, begged me to stop singing because his little sister, then 13 or so months, wouldn’t stop screaming. “Mommy! Stop singing! You are making the baby cry!” True story. I stopped singing. That was about 16 years ago.

She did a guest post at Baffled Books.
She did a Q and A at Books, Naturally.
Answered 5 questions at I Eat Words.
And she talks about the writing process at Great Imaginations.

Rachel will probably be the next one in our group to write a book. Then Andrea.
I will not. Write a book, that is. I am not a writer. Hi. My name is Jane and I'm a blogger.
:)

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. New books and rainy Saturdays.
2. I think I have the best dad. Ever. He loves me. In fact, growing up, I'd say he was my biggest fan. Every kid should have that. Happy Father's Day, dad.
3. Friends who spur me on.

Shalom,