What I am Most Thankful for in 2020

Happy Thanksgiving week 2020! As so many this year, I have been attempting to stay positive. In doing so, I have started taking the time to find things to be thankful for, even in the crazy, frustrating, and scary world right now. I am also, happy to announce that I have found a place that is more pleasant and less scary because of that. So, when I saw this was our topic for this week, I knew the answer right away.

The one thing in my life that I am most thankful for in this season of my life are all the people who support me. This includes my husband, daughters, friends, family, and colleagues. I would not be as successful as I am today without any of them.

I have been writing full time for over five years now. I will say that working full time at a creative endeavor doesn’t always translate into a full-time salary, though. My husband has been a rock star in shouldering our lives while I do this. Every time I suggest going back into the workforce, he is the one who says no to the idea. He knows this is what makes me happy and that is important enough to him, to do extra work here and there.

My daughters also have been wildly supportive in everything I do. My youngest who lives near us and sees firsthand my crazy life, takes it all in stride. She is always there to lend a hand when needed and is the first one to share news of one of my releases. Personally, I think that takes great courage to admit your mother writes steamy romance novels. My oldest daughter is always there with a kind word of support when needed and would step in at any time she was needed.

The friends I have in my life are people I have known since I was a child. We went to elementary,

middle, and high school together. We know the worst and the best of each other and yet when I need a cheerleader all I have to do is go to Facebook messenger and say the word and I will get a flood of hip hip, rah, rahs from women who are the strongest, smartest, and just all around amazing people I could ever want in my life.

And, even in the year of Covid, I have been lucky to have a group of colleagues that see the importance of connections and community. Daily, I work in a zoom room with anywhere from 2 to 8 other writers where we do sprints, gab, plot, and sometimes just laugh at life. Working from home can be isolating, and in a pandemic, there would be days and weeks that if not for this community I would see only my husband. (I have a pre-existing condition, so we decided back in March there was no reason to tempt fate and I have not gone shopping or gone out to a restaurant, unless I could eat outside since then.)

If a global pandemic has taught me anything, it is that community, whatever that looks like for you is one of the most important things for the human soul. It is what helps us through doubt, turmoil, grief, and any number of other things life throws in our direction. Right now, life seems to be throwing S$%^ around like a monkey at zoo. We need all the community we can get.

Think about those people who support you both on your good days and your bad days. Those are who I am thankful for. They not only keep me moving forward, but they are also there to remind why I took this path in the first place.

Thank you and I love you all!

Next up we have Brenda Margriet

Brenda also has some great sales going on right now. Don’t forget to check them out!

The Bendixon Sisters Series – on sale November 23 to 30. UBL links to each book (Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Apple) provided under each blurb ALLEGRO COURT – FREE! (was 99 cents) Mattie thinks she sees a way to save her beloved construction company—if she can convince world-class cellist Marcus Temple, the man who destroyed her dreams once before, to stay in his hated hometown for one month. All she has to risk is her heart. UBL: https://books2read.com/u/mYroDd GATEWAY CRESCENT – ONLY 99 CENTS! (was $2.99, will be going up to $3.99 after this week) Jo is flighty and scattered and impulsive – or that’s what her sisters think. Luke Donwell is destined to be a Catholic priest – or that’s what his parents hope for. Neither is prepared for the heat between them. Jo’s heart will break when he leaves her, but how can a girl compete with God? UBL: https://books2read.com/u/3yrJLl CROSSROADS CORNER - $2.99 (will go up to 3.99 after this week) Nothing will stop Camryn from dragging Bendixon and Sons back to profitability—especially not Will Danson, the sexy single dad who is standing in her way. Soon the two are competing for construction bids and career-making contracts. But it is Camryn’s battered heart that Will truly wants to win. UBL: https://books2read.com/u/brVa2E