Giving thanks today and every day...

So today is the day.

Thanksgiving.

A time to reflect on the year that has passed, the family and friends gathered round us in person and in spirit...and for readers like us, the great books we've read and shared.

Guess what?

Authors are thankful too...and this is why today I choose to share a letter of thanks from one author to all of you.  The readers, the thinkers, the browsers, and chatters; anyone and everyone that shares in the joy of reading and claims the world as their own.  This one's for you.

Please welcome author Germaine Shames....

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Author Germaine Shames

Dear Reader,

I may not know you personally, but chances are we have met through our shared love of books. You know me in a way few friends ever will: through my stories and my characters, the themes with which I grapple book after book, and my running “lover’s quarrel” with language and the prose that somehow flows from it. You are the reason I write, the invisible presence that keeps me company as I face the blank computer screen.    I catch glimpses of you in libraries, bookstores and trains. I read over your shoulder.

You accompany me on journeys beyond the page, into the hearts and minds of people we may never meet face-to-face but whose hopes and fears mirror our own. This takes empathy. You suspend judgment long enough to allow me to spin my tale. This takes generosity. You absorb tens of thousands of words to follow a story to its resolution. This takes time and effort that is seldom acknowledged.

Reading is not passive. You fill in what I leave out; you probe, interpret, challenge, feel and forgive. Occasionally, you leave a comment or review so insightful it reminds me why I chose to become a writer, and why I persist despite all.

Thank you for every moment you devote to books. Thank you for your concentration, discernment and selfless tenacity. Thank you for reading.

Love,
Germaine

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Special thanks to Pale Fire Press for sharing this beautiful note with me and in turn allowing it to be shared with all of you.  For more information on their current title listing, feel free to click over to their site.  To discover more of the worlds explored by author Germaine Shames, be sure to visit her official website...and watch for my review of You, Fascinating You right here, early 2013!

Until next time....wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving....and of course, happy reading.