Thursday, May 24, 2012

Relationship -- Comrades

I spent last weekend with new and old writing friends. Ann Shorey, Laura Frantz, Mesu Andrews and I joined forces at Lifeway Christian Books in Beaverton, Oregon and Tukwila, Washington. We had a good time chatting with readers, signing books and getting to know each other better. Ann and I have been buddies for years, but I'd never met Laura or Mesu. The book-signing was scheduled as a promotion for our work, but it turned out to be more than that.

I now feel as if I have new comrades in the writing world. Writers need each other--we understand what the writing life is like--the challenges and the joys. Us gals had fun sharing battle tales, triumphs and the perplexities of an author's life. And we laid groundwork for what may be long-standing friendships.

It was fun hanging out together. We know one another in a way we didn't before, and we better understand how to pray for one another. And I personally feel freer to reach out when I'm in need of guidance or support. We are comrades. A writer's life can feel isolated so in some ways when we bond it feels like us against the world. Ann, Mesu, Laura and I are now less alone in the great big writing ocean.

You and I--we all have our niche, and there are others we can share our interests and gifts with. Seek out one another. Share your unique talents as well as your strengths and weaknesses. Link arms and lean on one another. You will be stronger for it.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

6 comments:

  1. Oh man, I am so sorry I missed it. I would have totally driven up to Beaverton for one of your autographed books. I need to do a better job keeping up with blog posts so I don't miss fun events like this. Sounds like you had a good turn out though, good job!

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  2. I'd have loved it, Tammy. Hope we can connect next time.

    Have a fabulous day!

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  3. :( So sorry I missed this. I was at the OCW conference in Eugene. Karen Ball keynoted. As you can imagine, it was full of both hilarity and rich encouragement for the writer's life. I'm so glad you had a day of solidarity as well. :) xo

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  4. Hi Miriam. We knew about the OCW Conference and were bummed about the timing.

    Karen is such a fun speaker. She spoke at a church retreat I attended a few years back--loved her. I can only imagine how much you laughed and learned.

    Hugs.

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  5. Hey, Bonnie, I was having coffee with my mom this morning and she asked me if you and Christina Berry had any new books out. She wants to read them. You said you two are on top of her list of favorite authors along with Dick Franscis and John Jakes. Thought you'd love to hear that. I'm going to hop over to Christins'a blog and tell you too.
    Blessings!

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  6. Hi Tammy. How cool! I'm always thrilled to hear my books are on the top of someone's favorite books. Yeah!

    "Joy Takes Flight", book three in the Alaskan Skies series releases July 1st!

    I hope your mom likes it.

    Bless you for giving me such good news.

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