Today I got the Call.
No, not The Call, but the Call telling me my manuscript had made the finals for RWA's Golden Heart.
With my plate a bit full, working on my story is relegated to the wee hours of the night, so--since I tend to lose track of time when with my characters--the clock said 6:50 a.m. before I hit the rack. When the phone rang a bit after 8, my first thought was "Let the machine get it." My second? "Oh no, today's the day!"
I've been awake ever since.
Truth be told, I didn't expect getting the Call to be quite as exciting the second time, but . . . Okay, I admit it; I shrieked like a banshee on drugs. Amazing what a little vindication can do.
Watching while finalist's names were posted to a fellow writer's blog made the excitement linger, each new revelation like opening a Christmas gift or Birthday present.
You see, telling friends and family who aren't romance writers and have no idea what being a GH finalist means tends to leave you flat. You have to explain. It's rather like one of the Manning brothers saying, "Yeah, I won the Super Bowl" (okay, so only to a wannabe does this equation work, but you get the drift) only to be asked, "What's a Super Bowl?" But tell another romance writer and squeals and shrieks and happy dancing abound. Writers tend to work alone, for the most part, so the chance to share with others who understand makes any accomplishment that much more amazing.
So here's to all the writers, whatever their genre, stranded in worlds far removed from the real world, hearing voices only they can hear, telling tales as only they, individually, can. The writing community is a wonderful, supportive place filled with people as unique and individual as the stories they tell.
Thus, I offer a heartfelt "Congratulations!" to all the Golden Heart finalists driving hard to find the elusive onramp leading to highway of success and to the RITA finalists who are already on the road--and some who have paved the road--to their dreams. What an awesome bunch you are. Thank you for letting me share the ride.
