Tuesday's Inspiration - My Friend Kathy (Kat) #MFRWauthor #PDF1

There is a sadness and a joy about writing this post. My friend, critique partner and tremendous author has moved into her next life. As I start to write this, I remember the first time I saw her at a chapter meeting of Hudson Valley Romance Writers. At that time the meeting was at my house and we sat around my dining room table. She was sort of shy and hesitant to read her pages. I'm not sure but but I think someone had to read her pages for the first time. Wow, I thought. The story was raw but the talent was there. Not only did I recognize the talent but so did my friend Jane Toombs. I invited Kathy or Kat as she is known in some circles to our critique group. At that time there were two. One at night and the other in the afternoon. Not sure if she went to both. That was a long time ago. Sometimes my memory is great and sometimes not so much.

As I do to the new writers I invited her to send her manuscript and I would look it over. I read about three chapters. What a great story but there were problems. "It was, It is," must have been a hundred in those first few pages. I made my comments and returned the red circled manuscript and told her to go through and take out the It sentences and re-write them. "Then I will read this again." I kept my fingers, eyes and toes crossed. But she did and she made other suggested changes. Then she was off and running writing books with snappy dialogue and a lot of humor.

We became friends though I'm a lot older than Kathy. She had a young daughter and a had a granddaughter both attached to us at the hip. So we had sort of play dates with children in tow. Lots of fun there.

I remember the first time Kathy became ill and the many trips to the hospital to take her there for transfusions or just tests. She rallied and we thought all was wonderful. And it was for a time. She went to Egypt with her husband and returned after his death. I've always felt sad I never got to visit her there. But she came back and began really writing again. I sent her to my main publisher BWL and her books took off there.

How did she inspire me? Through friendship. Also through suffering through my writing trips to other worlds, those of fantasy. She was always interested and encouraging about my development of new worlds. I could continue on and on but I might make myself cry. Not tonight. I shed my tears yesterday though there will be times when they well up in my eyes.

I will miss her but there will be times when I hear her speak to me, telling me to write, write, write.