A Day To Be Thankful

As everyone knows, tomorrow is turkey day here in the US. Thanksgiving commemorates a special time in early US history when Pilgrims were down on their luck the Wampanoag Indians came to their aide and taught them the ways of the land. It was 1620 and almost half of the colonists of Plymouth, Massachusetts had died that winter the Wampanoag came. It was a tough time for all made better by the presence of friends and family.

During the early years, many states had a day of thanksgiving but few were on the same day and all were declared by the state governor. Three weeks after Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln finally consolidated all those days down to the last Thursday in November. In the mid-19th century, Sarah Josepha Hale, writer of Mary Had A Little Lamb, went on a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Her wish was granted when in 1941, Congress made our day of thanks, a national holiday for all to enjoy.

This year, I have a lot to be thankful for in my life. I have a great local writers group, a wonderful critique group, fantastic readers who tell me I’m great. I have a fantastic family and this year I’ll be traveling to California to spend time with my husband’s family for a traditional holiday with tons of his family I haven't seen for almost a year. I also found out about five months ago that this time next year I’ll be a grandmother of twin boys. I have a lot to be thankful for and believe me, I am.

But as I’m offering thanks for what I have, I will be expressing my sorrow over so many unfortunate families where someone has lost a job, a home and the things that matter most. I know that if my in-laws go to feed the homeless, I will go with them this year. My wish is that next year it will be better for the millions who are down and out. And I'll be helping out at home as well with some of the programs in my hometown this year.

I am also thankful for RWA, MWA and SFWA who so diligently looked after their authors in the recent Harlequin debacle. As of this writing, RWA had officially kicked Harlequin out of their acceptable publishers ranks and while I may not agree with how it was done, I certainly agree that it HAD to be done. RWA had no other course of action and while that sucks for many of our well loved authors the rules apply to everyone. Nora Roberts, the best known romance author ever, threw her towel in with RWA and the romance world cheered her on. As a romance writer I’ll have to see just how this all is going to pan out before I decide if I’m ever going to submit to them.

Yes, I am very thankful for many things.

Now for the fun things...this week the winner of my new book, The Haunting of Maggie Grey...is Tracy D (booklover0226). Email me at lynncrain@cox.net to get your prize. Next week, I’ll be giving away The Thing About Elves.

Have a great week and a great Thanksgiving!

Lynn