2019 Gratitude
I tried and failed a few times to write this blog post; it’s been a tough year in many respects. But I felt that I was overlooking and taking a lot of things for granted if I did not do this post, so… better late than never.
The Gratitude Post
-I am so, so, SO very grateful for my friends. You know who you are, but you’ve held me up through all the mess; you’ve come through every time. You have helped me regain my trust in humanity, honestly. And I am sorry if I made you work extra hard for that trust; it’s hard-wired after so many unfortunate events.
-Brilliant aunts! I seem blessed with an abundance of fabulous aunts (and some uncles—yes, it’s true) who have really looked after me and mine, especially this year with the decline and loss of my mom.
-My writing groups--Wolves and Harpies: You’ve really kept me sane. I don’t know what happens next, but I’m super glad to have you on my side and to have the honor of being yours.
-To Stephanie Burgis, Patrick Samphire, and Ying Lee for being willing to have a brief and lovely retreat. It was so much fun and I’m longing for more time! Also still so glad we (along with all our other awesome authors) got to work on The Underwater Ballroom Society. Remains one of the most fun and easiest projects to work on.
-My husband for supporting me through thick and thin, through the scary and rage-inducing and ridiculous. For still wanting to stay on this adventure together after nearly 25 years.
-My kids for being bright and shining stars. For their curiosity, sense of justice, joy in learning & life, I am most grateful. Hoping they’ll always keep the pride and self-confidence they’ve developed.
-For a new roof over our heads. Literally. Coming this Monday, if the weather holds.
-For Muse. Cliched it may be, but seeing Muse in concert in April was a life-altering event. It gave me something fundamental—the realization that we artists just need to make our weird stuff and not worry about what people will think. We need to be who we are in our art and not be afraid. Magical things can happen.
-For soundtrack composers. Much as I love Muse, I do not think I could create without people like Rachel Portman, Steve Jablonsky, Ramin Djawadi, and Hans Zimmer. They are the people who set the mood and tone for whatever I’m working on to the point that my creative response becomes almost Pavlovian. I deeply miss James Horner.
-For finishing my book. There were times I wanted to quit. Times I did. But I kept coming back because so much depends on this story. I’m going to allow myself to be proud of that achievement because against all odds, it’s done. Even if no one but my closest friends ever read it, it’s a thing I did. I can move on to the next thing and the next with the certainty that I wrote what was hardest for me to write and did not flinch away from it as I often wanted to.
-For travel. I traveled a lot this year—to WI 3 times, to MI once, to Seattle, to Savannah, to Cocoa Beach, to LA. Not all of the trips were for pleasure, but many of them were. I am thankful to friends and family who sheltered me and mine.
-For excellent PT people. Whenever my back goes out, I always panic. My PT guys always get me back on track. They’re the best.
-For great books. I don’t know why but this year in particular seems to have been full of great books, and though I didn’t get to read as many as I would have liked, I’m so glad to see this golden age of fantasy, SF, and properties making inroads in every walk of life, from the books and media themselves to fashion to even Le Creuset. It feels good and normal to be a geek, and I’ve never felt that way in my entire life. Yay, us!
Looking forward to a year that will bring back hope for all of us.