The Stories You May Never Know

In the thralls of Thanksgiving thankiness, there's one thing that editors and writing group members and critiquers uniquely experience.

Stories that change their lives--that no one else might ever know.

Some of these come in the forms of manuscripts we reject or manuscripts we ask for revisions on that the writer refuses to make.  They could be great stories, great seeds of stories, or great ideas.  They just don't meet our needs, still need a lot of work, or were not allowed to germinate enough before the author spread them on a page. 

Others come in short lived critique groups.  The members who bring in a piece of a novel that they've been working on for a decade and will continue to edit until the day they die; novels and short stories that never see the light of day outside of critique group.  The authors may never get the courage to submit, or may submit and get a single rejection and quit, or may never have intended to submit their work for publication. 

And, for me, another small bunch comes from freelance work that people pay me to edit… that, for some reason or other, never gets published.  The author may give up, the author may never finish, or the author may get distracted with Other Life till the day he or she dies.

These stories, or even germs of stories, still touch me, still affect me.

The written word is still sacred.  It's a piece of someone's heart that they have shared with me, bared to me, and something like that still affects a True Believer in the Power of the Word.

Part of me mourns that no one else, or few others, will get the chance to experience the touch of these particular words.  Another part mourns that the author may not get the recognition she or he deserves.

Yet another part secretly savors the fact that I had the rare honor to be part of the story's journey, to be one of the ones it touched.

Even if you never publish a story, remember it's never a lost cause.  It's touched anyone who has read it, changed their lives.  It definitely changed you for writing it.

So, after the Thanksgiving rush, let those of us with this honor, pause and give thanks for the stories that touched us… that no one else may ever read.

Obligatory cliché, sincere emotion?

Thanksgiving week.  All around the blogosphere, Americans and Ex-Pats are on the "I'm thankful for…" blogging horse. 

It sounds so awful to say it that way.

I've enjoyed a number of posts, and there most definitely is a lot of things and people I am - truly - thankful for.

I just feel overstimulated and overrun with thanks.  It feels like I'll just be shouting from my tiny little blog into the din of an arena concert where my heartfelt song will be drowned out and blended into an unintelligible roar.  Lost in a sea of sentiment, a drop indistinguishable from the overwhelming wave.

That doesn’t mean my gratitude is any less.

But I do make an effort to thank people in turn, throughout my blog.  Dear friends, favorite businesses, generous donors to the rescue, helpful colleagues… etc.

And I will thank you all in turn.

And I remember more of you than you may realize in my thoughts and prayers.

So…

As a diversion, here are some of the things my characters are thankful for.  I'd say there were some spoilers but at the speed of my attempts at just finding an agent, you will likely forget them by the time of publication.

Or an editor will make some changes.

As of now:

Heather is thankful that herself, her friend, her best friend, and her brother are not killed by the kelpie.

Alec is thankful for his friends' and Shepherd's support that prevents him from being damned to Hell.

Joe is thankful to be not only alive, but not a vampire.

Thomas is thankful to have met and assisted Dr. Balland - er - Katherine.

Katherine is thankful for the android, Thomas, who has helped her rescue her kidnapped daughter, and that she can now hug her daughter in person.

Kyra and Marne are thankful to be alive and not to have accidentally killed anyone.

Aurelio is thankful… that he has enough patience to not kill Sophia.

Sophia is thankful that she is not in Hell.

Cameron is thankful for a reunion - no matter how bittersweet.

… and those are all the characters I'm grateful to have worked with so far this year, and for whom I'm grateful to share my life.  No matter how demanding they can be sometimes.

Thank you for reading my post!

A Very Equine Thanksgiving

Last weekend, the Bay State Equine Rescue attended the Equine Affaire, as we always do. We often get a good portion of our supplies from generous dealers at the Equine Affaire. Anyone who has horses knows - but many people who don't have or work with horses don't realize - that caring for a horse is expensive. Grain, supplies, supplements, vitamins, medicine - all cost a lot of money. Since the rescue is run entirely on volunteers and donations, it means a lot to us when dealers give us their extras and leftovers.

This year, the Bay State Equine Rescue gives our thanks for donations from Equine Affaire to:

Cosequin
Agway
Finish Line Horse Products, Inc.
Platinum Performance
McCauley Brothers Inc.
Poulin Grain
Central Connecticut Cooperative Farmers Association
Blue Seal Feed
Biovance
U.S. Animal of Vermont
TizWhiz Sales LTD
Life Data Labs, Inc.
Uckele Health & Nutrition, Inc.
Lucerne Farms
SmartPak

Some of these companies also make vitamins, supplements, clothing, gifts, dog, cat, small animal… and many other non-horse products. Please help Bay State Equine Rescue thank these wonderful companies by checking them out for your holiday shopping needs!

Thank you from everyone at BSER - human and equine alike!

The Challenge of Grateful

When you're under stress, it's hard to be grateful.

When you're behind, it's hard to face the challenge and say "thank you." When you just want to give up, it's hard to thank difficulty for making us stronger. When you have a thousand and one things to do, it's hard to remember that simple "thank you" to a friend or family member or colleague who thought of you.

It's Thanksgiving in the U.S. this week, so a lot of people will be giving thanks for each other, their food, and other things they think of in any family rituals.

It hardly makes up for all the times we forget to thank each other, to thank God, to thank the Earth, to thank Life - no matter what any of them bring.

Thank you.

So many, many people do I owe thanks to - and for so many reasons. If I start now, will I even come close in a list?

You. All. Thank you. You know who you are. Maybe you don't - but YOU are wonderful. YOU made me who I am today. Thank you. If you think you have done me well, you have. If you can't think of something, know there is. We may not even realize it - you what you did, I what I received. Thank you. If I've already thanked you - thank you again.

And I thank myself, too - for being a pretty damned hard bitch on myself and giving myself time when I need it.

Husband-of-Awesome… Yes, of course Thank You. Especially.

Take more than a few minutes before turkey to consider gratitude.

Who are you thankful for? What are you thankful for?

What have you done to inspire gratitude in another?

Thank you.