Unlike what many may think, writing is hard work. The creative process flows most times inhibited for many writers but every single one of them, creative souls, out there can tell you of moments where the chapters they wrote took an unexpected turn. Sometimes, by reading the book outline—if they had one—it put things into perspective easily where they can just rewrite the chapter slightly to get the desired results. Other times, even though they are following the desired path, the chapter doesn’t jive or something just feels wrong.

Those are the times that bother me the most. When I can’t put my finger on what is causing the chapter not to sound right or not to feel right. Many writers just take a break from it and come back with a fresh mind to handle it. Me? I like discussion. I like to beat the issue down until it’s done and defeated. 

Cecilia and I do talk scenes, chapters, outlines over and over. Some days (read most days), we spend over 10 hours on the phone or Skype talking things over or doing editing and writing. That gets us moving at a high pace. But whenever we get really stumped and can’t get through a problem we talk to a select group of friends. These women are avid readers with sharp minds. They see our characters clearly and brightly. They talk about them as if they are real people, handling real life situations and its conflicts. Their insight into the story and the characters they have been following for over nine months now, is precious to us. Seeing them through their eyes we are able to identify what is bothering us in the chapter and fix it fairly quickly.

They tide us over the worse of the writer’s block and the only thing they ask in return is our friendship, love and respect which they have it in spades. We want to publicly acknowledge their amazing support, encouragement and energy. 

Thank you Candy Chapman, Harriet Vallero and Micquleta Williams for the many wonderful conversations, the many evenings full of laughter and camaraderie. For the amazing humor and prompt acceptance of our weird ways. There are many more reasons why we thank you but the most important of them all is for being our friends through thick and thin. We hope we can continue our journey together for many more years to come.

Cheers!