A Chat With a Friend

Last night a writer friend called me, and we got caught up on each other's lives. Thoughts of our first meeting still make me laugh.

Our fledgling romance writer's group was meeting in a small bookstore and she came over to sit beside me. After the initial greeting and exchange of names, she asked, "Are there any published authors in this group?"

"Yes," I said, and wondered just how much I should say.

"Oh! Who?"

"I'm published," I said.

"Really? How many books do you have?"

"Five," I told her.

She looked over her shoulder toward the door, perhaps just a bit of panic hitting her.

In truth, I was the only published writer in the group at that time, and it was just dumb luck that she sat down by me.

We became good friends and I'm so proud that she's gone on to have three books sold and another in the works. She's served several terms in various offices in the group, while I've dropped out, no longer getting anything positive from the association, and feeling drained from contributing and not getting much back.

Good friends can come out of less-than-favorable situations. And a few good laughs tide you over!