Gratitude {November Theme} ~ Christine Brodien-Jones

“But glad to have sat under 

  Thunder and rain with you, 

  And grateful too 

  For sunlight on the garden.”

     

The Sunlight on the Garden

                      ~Louis MacNeice

Country Garden with Sunflower ~ Gustav Klimt

2011 spirals down into darkness, moving quickly toward the Winter Solstice.  It seems the perfect time to reflect on the past year (and perhaps other years as well), remembering the many gifts I’ve been given as an author: 

·       My parents who encouraged me to write, my librarian aunt who sent me a book every birthday and Christmas, the teachers and mentors who encouraged and believed in me

·       The members of my writers’ group, who’ve critiqued endless drafts of my books and cheered me on for nearly two decades

·       My determined agent Stephen, who fell in love with The Owl Keeper, and my amazing editors, the two Kristas at Random House (who sent me a fantastic book on Morocco when I was writing Scorpions!)

·       The artists who drew the covers for The Owl Keeper and The Scorpions of Zahir, and filled the pages of both books with beautiful artwork: Maggie, Fernando and Kelly

·       My sons Ian and Derek and daughter-in-law Heather, readers of my rough drafts

·       The gift of time, which has made all the difference, giving me more hours to write—and also to appreciate “sunlight on the garden”

·       The network of authors, bloggers and children’s literature aficionados, including the Smack Dab bloggers, and all the champions of books I’ve met: librarians, teachers, publicists, booksellers and more

·       The readers of my books: to each of you, a huge “Thanks!”  Where would I be without you?

·       And, finally, Peter, my husband: Patron of the Arts, editor extraordinaire and best friend: “glad to have sat under thunder and rain with you” (and grateful, too, for our midnight conversations on owls, scorpions and fantastical creatures…!)