50 States of Pray

This wonderfully thoughtful idea comes to us from the equally wonderful Mark Koopmans.  Most of us know Mark because of our experiences around the web where he is constantly supporting, promoting and encouraging fellow authors with his sincere kindness.  My thanks to Mark for yet another opportunity to share my love for this community.

So far as the fifty states go I'm here from Pennsylvania and I'm praying you all have a wonderful, bright holiday in the nearness of the ones you love.

When Mark asked us to post about our thoughts on the year and our hopes for next year I immediately focused in on this community.  This wonderfully giving, inspiring, nurturing community of writers who are constantly helping others out and pushing them forward in their own creative journeys.

I've written before about how utterly and devastatingly disconnected I was for the bulk of the time I'd had this blog.  Less than a year ago I was posting irregularly for an audience of (sometimes) a few close friends who read what I wrote simply because they are my friends.  Then came the discovery of blog hops and writing shares and the great A to Z Challenge.  Within less than a month I had tripled my followers and been exposed to more amazing authors than I could shake a stick at.

What really thrilled me about this community wasn't just how nice they are (Yeah, I'm talking about you- you're super nice!) but how invested they are in helping other authors.  There is literally never a time when someone (or more often a bunch of someones) isn't hosting a cover reveal or a book tour or promoting a friend who just got published or offering assistance in linking up to anything a new author may need.  You can't get further than a link away without finding someone who's helping out a writing buddy or a critique partner or a bloggy friend.  And you cannot escape the sheer love these wonderful people have for their comrades in words.  It is quite literally overwhelming.

So I'm saying Thank You for that.  For you all being who you are.  You make me believe that someday there'll be a book out there with my name on it as well- because I know that you will be there every step of the way towards that goal.  Thank you.  You all astound me.

Click on the link for the full list of participants.  It'll take us all a while to get around to them all since we're cooking, wrapping and traveling today, but I plan to do just that to say thank you to everyone in person.

And, of course, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!