Writerly Things I’m Thankful For

What am I thankful for in my writing?

by Rebecca Cantrell

Everything. I’m ridiculously grateful for all of it. I’m thankful that words come out of my head and into my fingertips and onto the page. Sure, they’re not perfect, but they are there. I hear stories in my head and I write them down and other people read and understand them. How humbling is that?

I’m thankful for my loving and supportive family. Without their support, the rest of it doesn’t exist.

I’m thankful that I have literary and film agents (yes, I mean you: Kimberley Cameron, Elizabeth Evans, Mary Alice Kier, Anna Cottle) who believe in my work and sell it so that it can reach a wider world.

I’m thankful that the wonderful people at Tor Forge have done such a terrific job with the Hannah Vogel books (Kristin Sevick-Brown, Alexis Saarela, and those whose names I don’t know). It’s all been top notch: the editing, the fact checking, the cover design, the signings. I look at those books on my shelf and sigh nearly every day.

I’m grateful for the booksellers who have championed my books. The ones who handsell it to every customer who walks in the door (Bobby McCue from the late Mystery Bookstore in LA, Fran Fuller from Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Barbara Peters at Poisoned Pen in Tucson, Ed Kaufman at M is for Mystery in San Mateo, Elaine Petrocelli at Book Passage, oh dear, I hope I haven’t left anyone out.).

I’m grateful for my peers, all the writers famous and not so famous who have gone out of their way to be kind and helpful and supportive, from those who blurbed my early books (James Rollins, Anne Perry, William Martin, Rhys Bowen, Bill Pronzini, Laurie King, Loren Estelman, Gillian Roberts, Cara Black, Victoria Thomspon, Paul Doherty, Sara Colleton) to those who helped me out when I was just starting, including everyone on this blog (read the sidebar for that list!) and the wonderful members of the ITW debut group (Lee Child, Andrew Gross, CJ Lyons, Julie Kramer, Andrew Peterson, Andrew Harp, Jordan Dane, Tony Hays, Rip Gerber, and others too numerous to list).

Last, but definitely not least, I’m grateful for my readers. Those folks who spend their hard earned money and precious time on my stories and my world.

I couldn’t do it without you.

Thank you, everyone!