Armchair BEA - Nurturing Relationships

When I started blogging almost two years ago, I did it for a couple of reasons. I thought it looked like a fun, creative way to talk about books with other people who might care. And...**hanging head in shame**...I wanted to have a URL when I left comments on other people's blogs. I didn't want to be "Anonymous" any more, or that blank person picture that pops up next to your comments. Although, to be honest, I could much more easily have just set up a Google account with a picture. But then, I didn't know how to do that then either.

Now if you asked me why I blog, I would still say that the first reason stands. But a completely unexpected thing happened after I started blogging, something that keeps me blogging. I met people. Oh sure, I haven't actually met any of you. But I feel like I have; I consider so many of you friends! I've started to think about who I could actually met if I traveled to different places. If I went to Michigan, I'd travel to the thumb to meet Staci; in New York, I'd want to see Teri and Amy; in Dallas I'd get to meet Trish and Holly. You get the picture. My greatest regret about not getting to go to BEA is that I won't get to meet everyone.

It's not just bloggers I'm wishing I could met; there are publishers and publicists that I've gotten to know and even authors. As someone who grew up loving books, who has always been in awe of the way authors are able to transport me into another world, getting to talk to authors is like getting to talk to an NFL star or one of my favorite musical performers. So when I discovered Jennie Nash's (author of The Last Beach Bungalow and The Threadbare Heart) blog, I was thrilled when she responded to my comments. Soon we were talking back and forth about her teaching, the novel she was working on and even our families. Before I knew it she was sending me the manuscript for The Threadbare Heart. I've written here before of my excited response when the package containing the manuscript arrived and it remains today one of my prized possessions.

**due to computer problems, I've been unable to post anything for the past few days so this post is a bit delayed.