I think there’s a special bond between writer friends. You share your work with each other (often at its rawest), you trust another person not to judge your shitty first draft, and at the same time you trust them to be honest. You trust that you can trade feedback and not let it get in the way of the friendship. You go out dancing on a Saturday night and wind up talking about plot ideas and characters and how much you both love writing. It’s truly a blessing.
I was blessed with a lot of brilliant writer friends in New York, and one of the best ones is my dear friend Julia. A fellow fiction-writer, she and I had many wine-soaked dinners where we bounced ideas off of each other, and she listened to me talk about plot changes, new characters, even doubts regarding THE AFTER GIRLS ad nauseum. She gave me great ideas and honest criticism. She pushed me to keep writing at the height of my self-doubt.
She’s also one of my first friends to read THE AFTER GIRLS in the flesh. And she has very graciously reviewed it on her AWESOME blog, Bookstalker. It’s one thing to get a review from a friend—it’s another to get one whose writing inspires you.
You can check out the review here—and don’t forget to click around—her blog gives an inside look at the NYC lit scene like no other does. I’m feeling very happy today for having such amazing friends.
Above: a shot of me and Julia and some of our other fabulous NYC friends.
