IWSG

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http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html


 This month the IWSG has a prompt (maybe we do every month? I can be so slow to pick up on these things). That's convenient, because I didn't know what to write about this time, except to fret some more because I'm not actually writing this summer. So far, I'm mostly traveling. Which is totally cool, except...my book! It's not happening!

Okay, so the prompt is  
What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

It looks so easy. It would be easy just to say it's, "When's the next book coming?" and that's even fairly true. I mean, especially the first time a reader indicated how eager she was for the next book it was a total thrill. And basically every time someone leaves a comment on my blog (especially on the flash fiction) telling me that they loved the story I just posted, I pretty much do a happy dance.

But maybe the best thing anyone has ever said was about my first published book, The Ninja Librarian. The president of our local teacher's union read the book (yeah, so she's a friend), and her comments weren't just "I loved it" which would have been exciting enough. No, she took it seriously. She commented on themes and motifs that I didn't even realize had found there way in there. In other words, she read it like a teacher, and responded to it as she might to any book for kids, not just as a book written by a friend. (Melinda, if you're reading this, did I ever tell you how much that email meant to me?). In fact, I'm going to quote her here:


I especially liked the fact that it had a strong feminist message, in fact all kind of messages about reading, nonviolence, unwed mothers, and more.  Yet these potentially weighty messages were barely detectable, because you told it all in such an entertaining, hilarious, non-dogmatic style.  It was a great summer read! I hope to pass it on to many readers.

Thinking about that, I realize that the best thing you can say to/do for a writer is to take her seriously. Read her book as you would any book, and respond thoughtfully. 

That, and it doesn't hurt to have a kid occasionally jump up and down in the grocery store and yell, "Mommy! That's the lady who wrote The Ninja Librarian!" 


The monthly IWSG is a blog hop. Please check out some of the other writers, and leave some words of encouragement on their blogs!

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Summer reading sale--The Ninja Librarian and Return to Skunk Corners--just 99 cents!
And yes, work is underway, slowly, on Book 3, The Problem of Peggy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079NQFAA  
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1490560742
 

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