CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FEBRUARY WINNER!

Our February contest winner is Mary Ann from El Paso, Texas. She has won a signed book from each of the Quills: Stella Cameron, Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell and Suzanne Simmons.

We hope you enjoy the books, Mary Ann!

Suzanne, donning her Hollywood Reporter Hat: "Becoming Jane"

Back on January 5, 2006, I blogged on THE KISS. Subtitle: Confessions of a Hopeless Romantic or Pride and Prejudice Revisited.

As the avid moviegoer among the Quills I gave my two cents' worth about the various films/mini-series that have been based on, or inspired by, my favorite Jane Austen book, Pride and Prejudice.

NOTE: Actually every Austen classic has now been made into a movie or mini-series several times over. Truth is, film makers have run out of Jane Austen books. (There were only six completed novels in all.)

So it's now rumored that twenty-three-year-old American actress Anne Hathaway (yes, she of "The Princess Diaries," "Ella Enchanted," and most recently "Brokeback Mountain" fame) will play Jane Austen in the upcoming film, "Becoming Jane."

Purportedly this will be the story of a twenty-year-old Jane in love with an Irish bad boy (are there any other kind?) named Tom Lefroy, and will explain how or why she became Jane the writer. Fellow cast members are hinted to include Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

This latest rumor seems to supplant the previous rumor that American pop singer-actress Mandy Moore was going to star in the role of Jane Austen. (Praise be to the movie gods!)

Of course, Mandy may have made a fine Jane Austen, but once an actor/actress claims a role as his/her own, it's difficult to imagine anyone else filling those shoes. Cinematically speaking, of course.

Consider the following casting or miscasting rumors:

Nicole Kidman in the role of Mrs. Smith in last year's hit movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." (In the end, the part went to Angelina Jolie, which, of course, led to that whole Bradgelina thing.)

Not Harrison Ford, but Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." (Boggles the mind!)

Robert Redford in the role made famous by Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate."

Bill Murray as Forrest Gump??????

And last, but far from least, and not even a huge stretch of the imagination for most of us, Cary Grant as Bond. James Bond. (Of course, Sean Connery was the definitive Bond.)

So here are my "inquiring mind" questions for this week: Are you a movie-goer? If not, do you rent or watch movies at home? Do you have a favorite movie?

(I will try to refrain from answering that last question myself since my personal favorites -- I could never pick just one -- encompass anything and everything from "Casablanca" to "Elizabeth," from "Mrs. Miniver" to "The Return of the King" to the latest version of "Pride and Prejudice.")

Happy Mid-Week!
Or as we think of Wednesdays in our house: Happy Movie Night!
Suzanne

Jayne: The Early Years And a Recipe

Okay, this is for all of those people who want to know what books influenced me when I was growing up. I get this question a lot at signings so I decided that I might as well answer it right out here in public. Those of you who are bored by this discussion can skip directly to the latest recipe from the Frank Diet. Don't worry this one doesn't involve tofu. (Sheesh. Who knew tofu was so controversial?).

First those early, influential titles: I began the long road to romance writing with horse stories. Lots of horse stories. The most memorable titles were from the Walter Farley series featuring the Black Stallion. The bond between the main character and the horse resonated with my young brain. (I overlooked the fact that the kid hero was always a male and just inserted myself into the story instead. No problem). To this day, I remain convinced that there is a strong connection between horses, little girls and romance novels. I'm sure there's a dissertation topic in there somewhere.

The next series that captured my imagination and most of my allowance money was Nancy Drew. Nancy had it all: her very own roadster, a boyfriend, and she always solved the mystery. It was my first experience with romantic-suspense and I fell in love with the genre. I did feel, though, that the books would have benefited greatly by the addition of a few more intimate scenes between Nancy and the boyfriend. Be that as it may, the chief problem was that, although Walter Farley had been allowed into my very small town library, Nancy had been banned. Thus it came about that, while other young girls played volleyball at recess, I could be found skulking around the restrooms meeting my supplier. I don't know where Debbie came by that endless stream of new Nancy Drew books and I didn't ask. I just handed her my money and grabbed the latest title.

The third influence on my writing was Andre Norton's brand of science fiction. I loved the way so many of her characters enjoyed paranormal links with cats and other assorted creatures.

And there you have it, folks; the literary works that shaped my future. Sharp-eyed readers will be able to detect the influence of all of those books on my writing.

Now, as promised, another recipe from the Frank Diet.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS FRANK

Asparagus season has started here on the West Coast and that is very good news indeed in our household. I admit I used to steam asparagus but after I tried this technique I never went back. It also has the virtue of being amazingly simple. By the way, you can do the following brilliantly leaving out the black olives and grated cheese. Asparagus is pretty much perfect on its own.

1 lb of fresh asparagus (Preferably the big fat stalks if you can get them. The bigger around the better, I say).
Olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup of sliced black olives
1/4 grated parmesan cheese.

Wash asparagus and cut off the tough ends of the stalks. Dry the asparagus on paper towels. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread the asparagus out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Dust with the sliced olives and grated cheese. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about seven minutes ( less if you use the skinny asparagus). Keep an eye on the suckers. You're going for fork tender.

See? No tofu, as promised.

Love,
Jayne

Don't Hold Back

Cissy is about to put up a button linking everyone to a place where you can post your ideas for Quill blogs. Keep your eyes peeled, this will be available shortly. No idea too outrageous, but we do get to choose our favorites!

Cheers, Stella

One of the hard things about writing is that some days it does not go so well. One of the great things about living in Seattle is that there are lots of other writers in the area. Sometimes these two factors come together in an excellent way. Take yesterday, for instance. There I was, slogging through a scene that was obviously not going to work, wondering what made me think it was a good idea in the first place, when the phone rings. It is Kristin Hannah, who is in town getting her hair cut. She wants to know if I'd like to meet for lunch. Do I ever!!! Yippee! I am saved from having to figure out this dumb scene. I grab my coat and run for the door.

Over lunch I ask Kristin about her new book, MAGIC HOUR, because this is definitely not your mama's women's fiction! Want proof? Okay, here's the absolutely the irresistible set-up for this fantastic story: Deep in the Pacific Northwest lies the Olympic National Forest -- nearly one million acres of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. Even in this modern age much of it remains undiscovered and uncharted. From the heart of this old forest a six-year old girl appears. Speechless and alone this "wild child" can give no clue to her identity, no hint of her past. Her best hope is Dr. Julia Cates, a child psychiatrist who is trying to recover from a career shattered by scandal.

Jayne: This book is utterly enthralling. I've never asked another writer this question but in this case I can't resist. Where the heck did you get the idea for this story?

Kristin: The idea for this book came a few years ago. Amazingly, there was a local news story about a pair of young boys who walked out of the deep woods of British Columbia and into a small town. They claimed to have been raised in the forest and said that they'd never seen other people, never been to school, never left their campsite. The media dubbed them the "bush boys" and ran countless articles on their sad plight. The Canadian townspeople embraced the boys and took them under their wing. Sadly, as so often happens these days, the boys turned out to be frauds. Ordinary boys on the run from their all too ordinary Southern California lives. Still, their story had caught my attention. The great writer's question--what if?--came to me.

Jayne: Okay, I'll bite. What if?

Kristin: What if a child had truly been raised in the wild? I knew it was possible--history was dotted with actual stories of wild children--and especially in my corner of the world, where the forests are thick and dark and endless. But what would she be like, and what would she need? How would she handle the craziness of this high tech, thoroughly modern world?

I knew she'd need a psychiatrist to help her recover her voice, her individuality and her sense of self; I knew, too, that she'd need a police officer to help uncover the truth of where she'd been and where she belonged.
That's how I came up with Julia, Alice, and Ellie. And while I love almost all of the aspects of this story--the townspeople, the love affairs, the sister's reunion--it's really the little girl who stole my heart from the very beginning. She is a character unlike any I've created before and I found it truly difficult to let her go.

Jayne: Every reader who picks up this book is going to have the same problem, trust me. You are one of the leading lights of contemporary women's fiction. What's your take on the status of the genre today?

Kristin: This is a really difficult, loaded question. I would say that women's fiction--and by that I mean all fiction aimed primarily at a female audience, not merely a broadening or renaming of romance fiction--is as healthy as it's ever been. There are an astounding number of fabulous books being published every month. That being said, it's true that the ever expanding amount of titles has also made it difficult for new and untried authors to find their readers.

Jayne: Any thoughts on the problem?

Kristin: That's where the internet comes in. For as long as we women have been reading fiction, we've been calling our friends to tell them about it. Now, we can tell hundreds of people in a few seconds. It's a great mechanism for word of mouth, and I'm all for it. After all, in the end, that's what binds all of women's fiction together--whether it's literary, commercial, genre, or blockbuster. The books that make it big are the ones that touch our hearts or minds, the ones we simply have to tell someone about.

Jayne: Any last words of advice to writers and readers?

Kristin: My advice to writers is this: write a book you adore that is meant to make your reader respond on a deep and profound level; find your true voice and be unlike everyone else. And to readers: when you find that special book or author, tell everyone you know.

Jayne: Thanks, Kristin. By the way your hair looks great! And a note to readers. I see that MAGIC HOUR is currently a whopping 35% off at amazon and 20% off at B&N. Great deals on a book that is going to leave you feeling very, very good. Click below to order.

ELIZABETH ANSWERS FELLOW QUILL

Suzanne had two topics she wanted me to blog on. The first was salmon, which I’m saving for a date when I’m, ahem, hungrier.

The second was research. Specifically, she wanted to know, “How she does her research and then incorporates it so beautifully into her books.” (Thanks, babe. I love you too.)

I use two kinds of research. The first is experience. I’ve always been curious about science, gems, myths, the history of cultures, and macropolitics. I’m married to a former journalist whose specialty was crime. Through him, I have met some fascinating and occasionally frightening people. (Have you ever been served tea and cookies by an assassin?) Over the course of my life, my own curiosity plus my husband’s have sent me down very interesting byways of human experience. Some of them end up in my books.

The second kind of research I use is more directed. When I decide on a geographical backdrop, I Google the bejabbers out of it. Then I use a different search engine. Then a third one. A fourth. The articles/websites which appear most often I label CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. Then there are all the rest of the delicious hits. I label them POTENTIAL WISDOM. I add the two categories together, stir the mix, and wait to see what bubbles to the top. Sometimes things ferment in my mind for years before they become a backdrop. *smiles evilly*

Once I’ve decided on a backdrop, I go there, take photos, make notes on the sounds and smells, sights and faces, and generally get a feel for the place. Often pieces of the plot come to me during this phase. (If it’s a place I haven’t gone to recently and Evan has, I just pick his brain. He has a fine one.) Every new experience/bit of information is added into the mix.

As for the second phase of Suzanne’s question, the backdrop I have researched is treated like a major character. It interacts with the other characters, affects them for better or worse, limits some of their possibilities and enhances others, etc. Like a character, the backdrop isn’t revealed all at once, in one great gush of information. Instead, the information comes out when it’s needed to advance plot and/or character development.

There you have it, Suzanne. No secret magic after all. ;)


My question to all of you is: Do you have a topic/s you would like me or another Quill to blog on?

Holy... Davinci ... Is Stella confused?

A love, hate relationship with revision isn't unusual. Right now I'm having a little hate and "poor me" party. This means I'm looking for ways to turn 3:15 in the morning into something more exciting.

Letting my mind wander was a big mistake. It wandered straight into Davinci Code v. Holy Blood, Holy Grail territory.

Now here's the thing, the circular question: If the whole Grail question is fictional in one book, what separates it from fiction in the other?

Stella, going back to her revisions at once.

Suzanne rhapsodizes about: Places in the Heart

We all have places that touch our hearts and "speak" to us in a very special way. I've always been enthralled by Tuscany, Scotland, England, the desert of the American Southwest, the Himalayas, Bhutan, Ayers Rock, Angkor Wat, and the Great Pyramid at Giza. Some of these places I've been lucky enough to visit in person and some only in my imagination, fueled by books and documentaries.

I'm convinced that my own list of special places is one of the reasons I choose to write, or perhaps one of the reasons I must write. Somehow by putting it down on paper I relive the experience and the emotion of visiting that place over and over again.

When my husband and I travel we rarely take photographs, but we do carry a small leather-bound diary with us. At the end of each day we take a few minutes and jot down what we did, where we went, how we felt about it, and what was most memorable. It may be something as simple as a bread pudding we enjoyed in a restaurant in London (we're still talking about it eleven years later so you can imagine how delicious that bread pudding was!) or as awe-inspiring as the first time we saw the treasures in the Louvre.


Okay, it's time for the TRUTH: I jot down where we went, how we felt, and what was memorable about the day. My husband may dictate his impressions, but I do the actual writing. (You may recall a recent blog in which a fellow Quill — okay, it was Elizabeth — mentioned my handwriting. Yes, I was once an English teacher, and, yes, like so many of the Quills, my husband's scribble is illegible.:-)

But I digress.

Then, especially on a cold winter's night, we'll take a glass of wine and one of our travel diaries and settle in front of a cozy fire and read aloud about one of our trips, reliving it day by day, memory by memory.

So how does this relate to the writing life? Well, in LADY'S MAN (St. Martin's Press, 1999) I wrote about a very special place called the Room of Light. In the back of that contemporary romance I included an author's note about my feelings for special places, places in the heart.

Here's what I wrote:

I believe there are special places for each of us in this world. I can recall a hundred. I will name only a few.

A harsh, craggy jut of rock on the coast of Massachusetts where I stood alone and looked out at the cold winter Atlantic: I was sixteen at the time.

The shadow and mystery of the Catskill Mountains. Surely, as a child, I had heard the quavering voice of Rip Van Winkle and the rumblings of the legendary game of ninepins.

A warm, cozy corner tucked away on the third floor of the old library (it had once been a mansion; libraries often were in those days), sunlight streaming in through the stained glass windows, the air filled with the smell of leather and books and dust.

And, of course, that first night in Arizona -- there have been so very many nights since -- when I walked beneath the palm trees and inhaled the wondrous scent of the orange blossoms.

The Room of Light is real, but I am not going to tell you where it is. It is enough to know that such a place exists. Besides, I believe that each of us must discover the special places for ourselves.

So, sometimes, when the memory starts to fade a little for me. I sit quietly, close my eyes and remember. That is when the sight, the smell, the feelings come flooding back into me and I am, once again, filled with light.

You know I still get tears in my eyes when I read that because I'm reliving some very poignant and happy memories.

So, my questions for you today are: What are your "places in the heart?" Is there any relationship between your special places and the places you enjoy reading about? Is this one reason you may pick up a book set, say, in Scotland, but not one set in Timbuktu?

Here's to Spring!
Suzanne

Jayne Ponders Writers Who Lunch

Big day yesterday. Three of the Quills actually had a psychic intercept event! We found ourselves at the same point in time and space at precisely the same instant. I mean, what are the odds? This was clearly a sign. So naturally we did some shopping and had lunch together.

This metaphysical occurrence (which came about because-- are you ready to follow this? it turned out that Stella had a signing at Seattle Mystery Bookshop for her new book, BODY OF EVIDENCE. The book store just happens to be in downtown Seattle which just happens to be where I live. I had just learned that Elizabeth, just happened to be wintering up North here for a few weeks. So, in a flash of inspiration, I got on the phone and suggested we all rendezvous for lunch. Elizabeth and Stella suggested that we add on some shopping. How could I decline such an offer? And thus do great cosmic forces collide.

Anyhow, this startling confluence of synergistic energy got me to thinking about how much I value my friends. After a number of years in the writing business it is safe to say that I would be even weirder than I am if I could not pick up the phone any time of the day or night and call Stella or Elizabeth or Suzanne. Friends keep me sane and reasonably perky in what is essentially a solitary profession. You see, writing is one of those businesses in which, if you call in sick or take a vacation, no one will cover for you. No one else can do your job. The nature of writing requires that writers spend vast amounts of time alone drawing on their own peculiar form of creative energy. Sometimes you just need to be able to talk to someone else who understands.

And whine. Sometimes (okay, make that lots of times) you gotta be able to whine to someone who understands. Cops need to eat donuts and talk to other cops. Truck drivers need to eat pie and talk to other drivers. Writers need to eat pizza and talk to other writers.

The thing is, when you're a writer the circle of folks to whom you can actively whine is limited. You can't whine to other writers who are not yet published because as far as they are concerned, you've got it made. I mean, you got published, for crying out loud. What more can you ask for? You can't whine to people outside the business because they all think you've got the ideal job. You get to work at home! In your slippers! No pantyhose required!

It's true, this writing stuff is a very cool gig. I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. But I was born to whine on occasion and I love to gossip about what's going on in the world of publishing. So I need my writing friends and yesterday I got to spend some quality time with a couple of them. Suzanne, we missed you but rest assured pizza was eaten in your honor.

Life is good with friends, even if yesterday's writing didn't get done.

When you've just got to whine, who do you call?

Love, Jayne

Jayne and Stella do Borders

Last Saturday Jayne and I gave a seminar on publishing at Borders in Redmond Town Center, Redmond, WA. After our talk and the following discussion, we signed copies of our latest books; Jayne, ALL NIGHT LONG and Stella, BODY OF EVIDENCE.

We had a great time. Why? The people who came really got into the publishing topic and trusty bookseller, Andrea Roe, organized a seamless event.

Which brings me to a favorite topic–people who sell books. Precisely, people who love to sell books. You can pick these precious souls out by the lightness of their step between the stacks and the sparkle in their eyes when you ask a question. These are the folks who hold up a finger and say, "Ah, yes, follow me," and lead you to the book you couldn’t seem to find. And while they’re doing this, they suggest another book and let you have a look while they tell you about the story–and then there’s probably another and another if you enjoy playing among books, which I do.

That is a perfect description of Andrea Roe, Bookseller. What fun to be around her.
Now to a little more about last Saturday’s event. Jayne and I love to talk about publishing–I think most writers do. And it’s important for us to be educated about the business we’re in. We threw out comments on writers finding their niche, or targeting their writing and covered the basic mechanics of submission, finding agents and editors and on and on. And the questions came back. What a super bunch of people who truly entered into the topic.

I have pictures!

Jayne and Stella with Andrea Roe (in front) and writer Ann Roth who joined us for the signing segment with her latest book, The Baby Inheritance.

Jayne and Stella, who did not talk about what they intended to wear ahead of time, chatting with the group.

The group.

The line around the block to get autographs from . . . guess who? Wrong, these people are waiting for Martha Stewart to sign her latest book at a Sur La Table in my hometown. All the way around a large block, they stretched.

And to prove my hometown is a true example of NW hospitality, Kahili Coffee, a favorite local coffee and wine spot, set up a cart across the street from Martha Stewart’s signing just to make sure no Seattleites had to go without their brew of choice!

Do you have a special bookseller or two (or more) you would like to mention? Feel free.

Are you a bookstore or a library person, or both?
Cheers, Stella

ELIZABETH IN SHADES OF GREEN

Stella just finished writing a book.

I just started on one.

Envious, moi? Oh, yeah. And then some.

115,000 words ahead of me.

None in my rearview mirror.

*bites back anguished sound*

Well, there’s only one cure for an empty page. Typing. Lots and lots of it. Problem is, the result of all that typing has to make sense, be fast, occasionally sexy, often tense, sometimes funny, and ultimately a satisfying read.

Piece of cake, right?

*bites back another anguished sound*

The only thing worse than the scary, oh-my-god-what-now beginning of a book is the middle of it. The great, flabby, yawning, who-wants-to-read-this-stuff, why-did-I-ever-start-this-mess middle.

*bangs head against keyboard*

Suddenly, amid all the stars and headache, comes a vision of the two most beautiful words in the English language.

THE END

Smiling, I begin typing the first of thousands and thousands and thousands of words.

When you face a huge task, what tricks do you play on yourself to take the first step?

It's a quarter to four (or is that three?), There's no one in the place . . .

According to my watch, it’s 6.15 a.m. and I am definitely the only living creature awake in this place.

A few minutes ago I put the final few changes into a book, plopped the manuscript in a box, addressed it and positioned the lovely thing by the front door so I can stagger out to the shipping office first . . . Oh, yeah, it’s already first thing in the morning. First I’ll crash for around three hours, then I’ll stagger out.

How do I feel on a morning when I finish a novel? Tired. In need of an eye exam, a massage, a chiropractor, and intensive physical therapy. Hungry. Thirsty. And blooming euphoric!

I can’t even remember how many times I’ve done this. I do know that with each book, at about the tenth chapter, I go through a crisis. “I’m a fraud and now everyone’s going to find out. I can’t write, I never could write, I’m a failure–washed up.” At the two-thirds mark I recognize I’m writing a different book from the one I started and will have to make the first few chapters match the rest of the book because I got so much smarter as I wrote along.

Moan? Do I moan and whine sometimes? You bet I do. Of course, I do work harder than anyone else, and suffer more for my art, and I’m so much more temperamental than any other writer!

I have many more highs than lows.


Each time I come to work I think how much I like my cozy office–even if it does resemble a garbage dump on occasion. I bring my huge mug of coffee, turn on my music, fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, and off I go. I take something I once heard very seriously: If there’s nothing on the page, there’s nothing on the page and there’s nothing you can do about it one way or the other. So I always plunk my fingers on the keys and get started, and I don’t stop (except to refill the coffee or whatever) until I’ve reached my page goal.

This was not supposed to be the topic of my blog today, but sometimes you go with your gut. I’ll be back soon to write about the wonderful time Jayne and I had on Saturday at Borders in Redmond Town Center. Guided by star bookseller, Andrea Roe, we spent two hours with a great group of writers and non-writers in conversation about publishing. The time flew.

The things that make us incredibly happy can be simple or complex. When do you feel so pumped you can hardly sit still?

Stella

Mystery Blogger from Inside the Publishing World

Sometimes I can’t get over how unbelievably lucky I am. To say I am excited to start my career in publishing would be an understatement. I am ready to crawl out of my skin and announce “Hello, World! I’m ready to help bring you books!”

From my cozy community in Columbus, Ohio, I applied to every editorial position in book publishing that I came across: from Mediabistro and Monster.com, to individual publishing house websites, I religiously checked listings so I could jump on every opportunity (and hopefully beat out the competition). With so many qualified candidates and not enough jobs, I dreamed of dining on crackers three times a day, and a dirty apartment in a noisy Manhattan neighborhood, with only one naked light bulb for light and warmth. And so with these optimistic aspirations, I sent out enough cover letters and resumes to make a forest weep, and never had a single bite. Didn’t they recognize my use of Dr. Seuss stamps was a sign of my editorial genius?!?! I also applied online, also known as “no chance in hell, but we’ll let you think you’re being productive.” How thoughtful of them. I became so familiar with the receptionists on my follow up calls that I could emulate a New Yawk accent flawlessly. Not a skill that got me far in Ohio.


I read every “how to get the job of your dreams” book I could get my hands on. But fear struck in my young heart when I read a word over and over: NETWORK. Sure, I was a big fish in moderate sized pond at The Ohio State University, but whom did I know in publishing? Well, as it turns out, my best friend’s cousin (ready to follow this?) used to work at Houghton Mifflin before becoming a social worker a few years ago, and she still had some old buddies who still were in the business. I emailed these faceless names who held my life in their inboxes with hopes that they’d share their wisdom. Imagine my surprise when a production editor at Candlewick called me. He recommended the Columbia Publishing Course (formerly known as the Radcliffe Publishing Course), which is a six-week crash course about everything in publishing. Miracle of miracles, I was accepted into this elite program, and within days of its completion, the director recommended me for a position at The Berkley Publishing Group. Two interviews and three days later, I accepted the job over the phone at the Cleveland airport. Hours earlier, I had left New York downhearted that I was returning to Ohio unemployed, but hours later, my fate had changed. Networking indeed.

And so here I am. An honest to goodness I’m-learning-at-the-feet-of-the-masters type of experience. Every day, I’m surrounded by brilliant and creative minds, including my boss who is a mentor as well as an inspiration. I have another mentor within the company who strives to give me whatever additional tools and support I need to be successful. What more could any aspiring editor ask for?

And to think it all began when Dr. Annable threatened to keep me from graduating high school.

Dr. Annable’s dogged persistence that I understand grammar, at the time, was irritating. Who cared if I knew the difference between an independent and dependent clause? My love for reading surely was not going to increase because I recognized dangling modifiers.

Oh how wrong I was. With Dr. Annable’s determination that I understand the foundation of sentences, I started to look at words in a new way. Books, which since the age of three had been my companions, were more than just a story, a history lesson, or a confidant. Word choice, syntax, even a semi-colon, had the power to arise in me an excitement I never knew possible.

When I weave the story of who I have become, it is as if the pattern was always laid out, but I was not ready to see it: It was Dr. Annable who recognized in me an aimless love, and she gave me the foundation for which I wouldn’t realize its value until I was ready. She strengthened my passion for literature - for words - because I was unconsciously preparing for a literary life. It was because of her, and now for her as well as myself, that I am determined to become an editor and commit my passion to publishing.

Living in a New York state of mind isn’t always easy; the Ohio in me rears up and I’m surprised to find myself missing what I had previously couldn’t wait to escape. But I’m living my dream, and as the person I was always meant to become– and the person Dr. Annable always saw.

Author’s note: Dr. Mary Annable passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in April of 2002. I never was able to tell her thank you. I like to think that she already knows.

Mystery Blogger: Emily Rapoport, Berkley Publishing Group