I'M IN THE NEWS!

Today I made the local newspaper. My photo and an article about my upcoming book appeared in the Neighbor Newspapers. I'm a teensy celeb around here! LOL

Yesterday, the husband of one of my BFFs had his obituary in the paper.

I was thinking about the dichotomy there, with the "birth" of my book and the death of this really great man. Both were unexpected events, in a way. Well, we were both working toward those conclusions, in a way. I'd wanted to sell sooner, and I'm sure Bob wanted to live longer!

Life is crazy, isn't it? Crazy and amazing and wonderful and scary and a wild ride at times.

The thing about Bob was, he always seemed upbeat. I didn't want to look at him in the casket, because I wanted to remember him with that teasing light in his eyes. It's too bad more people can't be like that. Now, maybe Bob had his darker moments. But if I didn't know it, I'm sure a lot of other people didn't, either. There's something special about a person who brightens peoples' days just with a "Hello, Melissa" and a friendly, open expression.

A book is coming out. It'll be around a while. Well, probably a lot longer than many, since I'm getting *tons* of author copies. Bob will be around a long time, too. He touched too many lives not to be remembered fondly.

Hug your family members. They're far more important than the business of writing. I do it because I hope to touch people with my words. But real relationships that involve laughter, compassion, friendship--now, *that's* da bomb.