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Congrats and kudos!!! Woohoo!!! I long ago decided that if critics raved over something—it sucked. If they didn’t like it, it was probably great. Critics are from a different planet!

With me, it’s not so much finishing a novel as shutting up the voices. It’s the only way they’ll leave me alone!! My husband has learned not to ask me what I’m thinking—he says my brain is a scary place—he’s right!! I can’t think one thought at a time—I have a whole three ring circus with a zoo and an amusement park and who knows what else going on at the same time. The scariest part is that I can keep track of all of it. Drives my hubbie and kids nuts!

It’s not always about getting published—sometimes it’s just “me” time.

I write a local gardening column—I can’t tell you how many people come into the garden center where I work and tell me—I never understood that before—or so, that’s why that happens! The best compliment I’ve ever gotten was from a good customer—he told me, and I’m paraphrasing—I don’t like to read, but your column—it’s fun! I have so much fun writing about gardening stuff and I know so much useless trivia... Everything I read/see/hear sticks to my brain. I can come up with the most obscure facts no one had ever heard of—I call it brain lint! My kids call me encyclopedia, but I love it!

That’s what writing, and reading, is really about. Having fun, visiting a different world for a bit.

The one book I've had published was a textbook I co-authored with the real expert on the subject (fiber optics). Originally I was going to ghost write the theoretical and historical sections, but by the time the contract was written, I was a co-author - cover credit and all! Then the expert went into the hospital and I ended up writing a lot more than we had anticipated, with his expertise and my tech writing experience to get us through. He insisted I take the whole advance, and he'd take the royalties, and I agreed.

Called that one right. He has yet to see any royalties, and the advance got me a new computer and helped me pay down some debt. Don't worry about him, though. He's an engineer, I'm a writer. Guess who doesn't need the moeny.

Gardengirl, you sound like so much fun! I myself am known as the Master, make that Mistress, of mostly useless trivia.

My husband cannot fathom how much I enjoy reading books and spending time here at FR. He’s a creative director so he’s a very visual, graphic person. Though he’s a conservative, he thinks FR is boring and contains “just words.” That’s why I love it!

Luckily, he doesn’t begrudge my freeping since he enjoys watching television. It works very well. LOL

I’m a longtime gardener and would love to read your column if it’s available online. I also wanted to share a wonderfully witty site by a local gardener/landscaper. For some reason, I’m unable to post a link, but it’s renegadegardener.com. Check out the “Don’t Do That” section of his site. The part about alien tree circles is hilarious.