A WRITER’S THANKSGIVING

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

I think it was our second year as the collective Criminal Brief group, that I figured out I would always have the Thanksgiving column. (Thursday’s Child sometimes has a blonde moment or two.) In honor of our national holiday, I would like to list a few of things I am most thankful this year.

• I am thankful to God who hasn’t let me down yet. Whatever talent I have has been there all along, within his plan. If only I didn’t keep straying off the path.
• I am thankful for the 3 F’s: family, friends and fans. (It doesn’t matter that most of them are in all these categories.) We weren’t meant to be alone on this planet. If we were, there would never be mysteries to read. The author already knows whodunit. Where would be the fun in that? We need fans who love our work, family who have to love us and friends who do because they want to. If we can persuade them to buy our books, too, we must already be in heaven.
• I am thankful for the library which allowed me to read all the books I wanted for free. In my younger years, I didn’t have money to buy my own books. I appreciate being enriched by the characters living adventures in places I had never been. The library helped me travel the world and through time. All I had to do was hold onto the library card which was my first membership anywhere.
• I am thankful for Mickey Spillane and the trenchcoat-wearing, tough guys he wrote about. It was his I, the Jury that made me want to be a mystery writer. I loved the gritty tone of Mike Hammer righting wrongs.
• I am thankful for those that have encouraged me in my writing endeavors. This includes those that told me they didn’t think I had it in me to be a writer. I took it as a dare.
• I’m thankful for the Internet that has brought me together with so many others of like-mindedness.
• I’m thankful to have been a part of Criminal Brief. It’s been demanding at times, but always worth it all.
• I’m thankful to having shared time with you today.

I could probably keep listing things, but the pumpkin pie will be gone if we linger and I bet some of us have money on a game, too. Later, I’ll find a cozy nook and settle down to read a short story or two. Maybe you’ll join me? Like relatives on a Thanksgiving, there’s always room for a great mystery.