Ending 2011 on a high note

As with all other years, there were some changes in 2011.  Some were anticipated, like finishing a draft of "Awaken" and starting in on book 2.  Some were not, like starting this blog (entirely a whim, like most things I decide to do), moving into an apartment, and picking up a freelance editing job.  Most of the good things that have happened this year came because I moved out of my comfort zone, though.  The risk of submitting my manuscript to some people whose reactions I couldn't anticipate has paid off nicely - I've gotten some very positive and helpful remarks, and I feel more confident about submitting for publication.


The most pleasant surprise came a few days ago on Twitter, and I promise this is related to reading and writing.  You see, when I initially joined Twitter and started looking for people to add, I saw that Margaret Atwood, the brilliant author of the book that formed the basis by which I judge social commentary (The Handmaid's Tale), was on there, and had made news headlines for it.  When I joined her throng, she was wondering what a "squee" was. There were a lot of creative and amusing answers, which she retweeted to share with the rest of us.


So the other day, she got a response that included the tag, "#woot."  She wondered in her feed if that was a hoot of joy, or something else.  I replied (and that link won't work in a couple of weeks, because of how Twitter archives things, so I'm copy-pasting the text below):

     @MargaretAtwood Woot is what a squee grows up to be.

And the wonderful, creative, unmatched Ms. Atwood not only saw my tweet, but liked it so much she retweeted it to her many followers.


Had you told me ten years, five years, even one or two years ago that such a thing would've made me want to dance with joy, I would've rolled my eyes at you.  But this small interaction, this stamp of approval from someone I admire, has made my week, my month, possibly my year.


It's a wonderful note to end 2011 on, even if that were all the joy I had for today. But I have more to look forward to, because my friend Grace, perhaps the most discerning and well-read of everyone I asked to look at my manuscript, has invited me and my husband to hang out with her and her fiancé and her friends I've never met in person, but interacted with online and heard a lot of good things about. Grace has excellent taste, which isn't limited to books.

2011 wasn't perfect, but it's certainly ending on a high note.