Celebrate, Celebrate!

Hello, 2016! 

I may be about 15 days late in greeting the new year via this blog, but I waited to write as I wanted my first post of the new year to be meaningful. 

And today we're celebrating.

About 8 years ago, I returned to my day job after taking a long maternity leave. I'm sure I've written about being a stay at home mom after my daughter was born. While I was glad to have a job to return to, I missed being at home with my child. But I held my head high, blessed to have an income when many others may not. I returned to work and was reunited with many old friends. I also met many new people. Employees come and go with my company as I'm sure they do with yours. We move from office to office and from state to state. Change is the norm. Embrace it, or be miserable. I like to be happy so I embrace.

Sherrie was one of the new people I met. She wasn't new to the company but was one of those folks who was mobile. Sherrie and I worked on the team I rejoined. Working in an office environment eight hours a day means you get to know your co-workers pretty well. One day i overheard Sherrie and another co-worker talking about books and I discovered that Sherrie, like me, enjoyed writing. We started up a conversation about our stories and quickly found common ground.

I asked Sherrie if she was serious about writing. When she replied that she was, I invited her to be my guest at Georgia Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. 

Sherrie and I at Georgia Romance Writer's Moonlight & Magnolias  Conference, October 2015

Eight years later, following personal and career ups and downs, I'm thrilled to report that Sherrie has just signed with The Wild Rose Press! She received this wonderful news in December. What a wonderful Christmas present! I'm so thrilled for her. I'll be sure to invite Sherrie to talk more about her road to publication so stay tuned!

It's a wonderful thing to belong to an organization and a group of people who share your same interests. Be sure to encourage those you come in contact with. When you encourage others, it has a positive effect on you. When they celebrate, you share the joy. The opportunity to celebrate, be it for a friend or yourself is special and shouldn't be taken for granted. 

Are you celebrating anything you'd like to share?