Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Tracy Clark--It Only Takes One Person to Believe In You

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Sometimes the perfect post comes along at the perfect time. I was feeling in need of a little (or a lot) of a boost in writers' mojo, and when I read today's piece from the wonderful Tracy Clark, I was inspired. Such wonderful advice, and such a moving tribute to Eleanor Taylor Bland.

IT ONLY TAKES ONE PERSON TO BELIEVE IN YOU

by

TRACY CLARK


Writing is a lonely endeavor. There’s not a soul in that writing room with you as you stare at that blank computer screen, its cheeky cursor blinking at you as if to say, “okay, (insert air quotes here) F. Scott, whatcha got?”

On good days, you’ve got lots. On bad ones, yikes. Knowing you’re a part of a writing community helps on those bad days. You have friends, pals, who know that lonely room, they’ve seen that cursor blinking. They feel your pain because it’s their pain too.

For writers, I think, there is a constant worry that what we’re writing isn’t good enough, that we’re not getting all we can out of a character or a plot line or a chapter. That even after a few books we have no idea how to write the next one. That writing is a knack or a fairy gift that will dry up and blow away at the stroke of midnight … on your birthday.

But writing’s not at all magical. It’s craft, it’s talent, it’s a vocation for which you can become increasingly proficient through hard work, persistence and downright stubbornness.

Keep writing.

A lot of writers are shy and introverted. I’m shy. I spent part of my first Bouchercon sitting behind a potted palm in a St. Petersburg hotel. Not all day, I’m not a complete hermit, just in 10-to-15-minute spurts, just long enough to recharge before diving back into the fray. Some of you might have seen me at the palm. I named it Stanley. I sat on author panels there and sweated. I met people. I liked it. I was exhausted at the end of the four days.

Keep writing.

I knew I wanted to write early on, and so I took advantage of every writing course I came across starting freshman year in high school and running all the way through my thesis presentation. If there was a writing workshop available in my area, I took that too. I gobbled up knowledge on pacing, dialogue, character building, world building, setting, voice, point of view, all of it, stuffing it all into my memory bank. At these workshops, I would stare at all the published authors leading the sessions thinking they were just the smartest things walking. I wanted to be like them, to know what they knew, and I was determined to get there if it took me a thousand years and a valued limb.

I met Eleanor Taylor Bland at one of those all-day workshops. I was still in college, still struggling with my writing, still not getting “it.” She was a force of nature. I watched in awe as she moved through the room with such confidence and determination. She knew everyone and everyone knew her. I sat in on her sessions, taking copious notes. I sat in the back, too shy to sit in the front where she might see me. She had no idea I had the latest Marti MacAllister novel in my bag and that I was too shy to ask her to sign it.

But she saw me. How could she not? I was the only other Black woman in the room. In fact, for a few years, I only saw a handful of Black women (one man) at the entire workshop. Eleanor approached first. She wanted to know who I was and what I was writing. I stammered, began to sweat. I think I was speaking English.

“Good,” she said. “Follow me.”

Eleanor latched on and led me along with her. She pointed out the sessions I should sit in. “Go to that one. She’s good. You need that information.” So I went. And Eleanor was right. She introduced me to people (published writers) I never would have approached on my own.

One year, I came back with manuscript pages. Eleanor was there. She did the same thing as the year before; this time there was one more Black writer there. We followed behind her as she worked the rooms like a pro. She called us her little chickens. She was our Pied Piper.

Eleanor read my manuscript pages one year. While she read, I agonized, finding a spot on the wall to focus on, nervous about what she might say. She was a real writer. Real writers know junk when they read it. The Eleanor Taylor Bland was reading my junk! I wanted to crawl into a ball and die.


     She finished. Her head popped up. She looked at me for a half-second, then said. “Good. This is good.” She said some other stuff, but I didn’t get most of it. I got hung up on the “good” part. She said it was good? I would have danced on the ceiling, if I could have reached it. Then she said it. The two words that I hear in my head today and every day when things are going well, but particularly when they aren’t. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing.

Those two words got me through more than twenty years of rejection letters. They got me through getting an agent early on and losing him two years later when he could find no takers for the early version of my first Cass Raines novel that would eventually become “Broken Places.” The two words get me out of countless muddled middles now. Whenever I get stuck – it’s keep writing. Whenever I feel I’ve gotten to the end of what I can do – it’s keep writing. Whenever I’ve spent an entire day writing and I know in my bones I’ve just spent an entire day writing crap I cannot use – it’s keep writing.

Keep writing.

I finally got my Marti MacAllister book signed. I also got Eleanor’s phone number and email address after that first manuscript critique. She wanted to check on my progress, see how my story was coming along. She offered her help when and if I ever needed it. I needed it. We talked on the phone on occasion, but she was far too busy for chitchat, so we mostly emailed back and forth until she got too sick to do it. It was a good day when I had an Eleanor email waiting in my inbox. I’ve saved those emails.

She called me at work once and left a message on my voicemail. She called my writing “impressive.” I saved that voicemail too until the job changed phone systems and the message got deleted. I would play that message every morning when I sat down at my desk. It motivated me and kept me on track. If Eleanor believed I could write, it was easier for me to believe it too. I wish I had that message back.

Eleanor called me on a Saturday morning once and told me to get dressed and meet her downtown. Walter Mosley was doing a signing at the bookstore on State Street. Words cannot adequately describe the panic that call sent through me. It had taken me two years to talk to Eleanor without fainting dead away and now she wanted to introduce me to Walter Mosley? Walter. Mosley. I went. Of course, I went. You did not say no to Eleanor. I had my picture taken with Walter Mosley that day. Eleanor took the photo, and I could see her grinning behind the camera. Eleanor and I had lunch afterward, but I have no idea where or what I ate. A week or so later, she mailed me a copy of that photograph. Walter Mosley had signed it. I looked like a deer caught in headlights. I still have that photo.

I got my first writing credit through Eleanor. She asked me to write a short story (my first) for an anthology of Black mystery writers she was putting together titled “Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African-American Authors.” Penny Mickelbury was in that anthology, so were Walter Mosley, Hugh Holton, Chris Chambers, Frankie Y. Bailey, Grace Edwards, Gary Phillips. What was she thinking? No way was I good enough to be in that kind of company! But there I am. If you check out the book cover, you’ll see me. I’m listed as “and others,” and I’ll gladly take it any day all day.

 Tracy as a Best First Novel nominee, the Lefty Awards in Vancouver

Sometimes angels appear right when you need them.

Writing is a lonely endeavor. It’s just you in a room with a blinking cursor until someone, some force of nature, plucks you out and shoves you toward community. I pray every new writer out there finds such a mentor, such a friend. I miss Eleanor’s emails. I miss her voice. I wish she could see what I’m doing now and know that she played a tremendous role in it. I think she’d be happy about it.

So, if you’re a new writer out there and you’re finding the road rough and full of obstacles, I’ll tell you what Eleanor told me – KEEP WRITING.

If you’ve been writing for years and are in a position to impart some wisdom or keep a new writer going, reach back and make that connection. I honor Eleanor’s belief in me, her friendship, by paying it forward.

 Tracy (left) and friends in Vancouver

None of that means you won’t find me skulking behind a potted palm at some big conference, though. Still shy, but, by all means, say hello. I’m friendly. But if you’re also shy, you’ll have to find your own palm. Stanley’s mine.

 


Tracy Clark is the author of RUNNER: A Chicago Mystery (June 29, 2021; Kensington) and three additional novels in the Cassandra Raines series. She is the winner of the 2019 Sue Grafton Memorial Award, an Anthony and Lefty Award finalist, and her books have been shortlisted for the American Library Association's RUSA Reading List, named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Books of the Year selection. A native of Chicago, she works as an editor in the newspaper industry and roots for the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks equally. She is a board member-at-large of Sisters in Crime, Chicagoland, a member of International Thriller Writers, and a Mystery Writers of America Midwest board member. She is currently a finalist for both the Agatha and Shamus Awards for Best Mystery of the Year. You can visit Tracy online at tracyclarkbooks.com

 

More about RUNNER:

Chicago in the dead of winter can be brutal, especially when you’re scouring the frigid streets for a missing girl. Fifteen-year-old Ramona Titus has run away from her foster home. Her biological mother, Leesa Evans, is a recovering addict who admits she failed Ramona often in the past. But now she’s clean. And she’s determined to make up for her mistakes–if Cass can only help her find her daughter.

Cass visits Ramona’s foster mother, Deloris Poole, who is also desperate to bring the girl home. Ramona came to Deloris six months ago, angry and distrustful, but was slowly opening up. The police are on the search, but Cass has sources closer to the streets, and a network of savvy allies. Yet it seems Ramona doesn’t want to be found. And Cass soon begins to understand why.

Ramona is holding secrets dark enough to kill for, and anyone who helps her may be fair game. And if Ramona can’t run fast enough and hide well enough to keep the truth safe, she and Cass may both be out of time. 

DEBS: What a fabulous story! REDS and readers, has there been someone who's encouraged you the way Eleanor encouraged Tracy?

74 comments:

  1. What a wonderful, inspiring story, Tracy . . . thank you for sharing it with us.
    And congratulations for your newest book . . . “Runner” sounds like an exciting story!

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  2. Debs, thank you for introducing us to Tracy.

    Wonderful story, Tracy! And welcome to Jungle Reds! Thank you for sharing your story about Eleanor Taylor Brand. I was at Lefty in Vancouver.

    Diana


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    1. Thank you!!! We likely passed each other in the halls. :-)

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  3. What a great story! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  4. So inspiring! Thanks for sharing, Tracy. KEEP WRITING indeed. Most of us start writing our first mystery novel because we love reading them, and figure hey, it can't be too hard. And then it is. Really hard. Having a novel published is not a goal for the faint of heart and boy oh boy does it help if you have encouragement from such a big talent. (And can hear criticism!) I wish I'd met Eleanor.

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    1. LOL. I had that same thought starting out, Hallie. I'd written one short story and figured huh, that wasn't so bad. Let me try a novel. Took another twenty years to wrestle that monster to the ground. :-)

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  5. I'm sure I've mentioned him before but besides my parents (who always kept me on the relatively straight and narrow and encouraged me in the things I wanted to pursue), the one person who encouraged me the most was a man named Tony Dias.

    Back when I was a young kid, I started playing in the local youth basketball league. I was not a good player. It was always a case of I could learn what I needed to do but I just didn't have the talent to actually do it. My dream of playing for the Boston Celtics was not ever going to happen.

    But I decided that I would become a coach. And I would tell any of the coaches in the league that someday I was going to be coaching in the league myself. They would pay lip service to me, dismissing me with a "Yeah sure kid, whatever you say." Even the coaches I was playing for at the time.

    All except Tony Dias, who was the coach of the best team in the league. I never played for him myself but anyone could see that he was a damn good coach. When I told him that I wanted to be a coach, he didn't just shine me on. He told me that I should go for it and made it seem like the dream of an 11 year old untalented player was possible.

    I started coaching as an assistant when I was 14 years old. Once I turned 18, I got to be a head coach for the first time. In my third season, my team made the championship. Before the game, I saw Tony in the stands and I made my way over to him and thanked him for encouraging me when he both didn't have to and didn't really know who I was.

    A few years later, I was going through some burnout and planned to stop coaching. Instead, I was asked to be an assistant with another coach. And who was his lead assistant? Yep, it was Tony. Now I was part of a coaching staff with the guy who encouraged me in the first place.

    Two seasons after that, the head coach of that team had decided to retire as a coach. I was going to be a head coach again. And Tony paid me the ultimate compliment when he agreed to be my assistant. We coached together for a couple seasons, winning the championship in our first season.

    Tony would stop coaching in the youth league after that and move on to being an assistant coach at the local high school, the dean of area coaches really.

    Sadly, Tony is no longer with us. After a 2nd bout with cancer, he passed away. I wrote a piece about what he meant to me that was published in the local newspaper. That piece was shared with his family and word got back to me that many of them thought my "eulogy" was actually better than the one his son gave at Tony's funeral.

    I spent 25 years coaching in the league as both a head coach and assistant with my teams winning 11 titles. I served on the league boards and was president of both of the winter and summer programs along the way. And none of it likely would've happened without that initial encouragement from Tony Dias, a great coach and a great man.

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    1. Wonderful story Jay, what a gift he was in your life.

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    2. Jay, it strikes me that Tony Diaz was an ultimate coach--he encouraged not only the players on his teams, but others he met, as well. A truly great man, and what a wonderful role model for you going forward. And it further strikes me that, through you and others he influenced, the ripple effect of his generosity and kindness has lived on and on.

      I have a suspicion that many, many players you have coached could offer equally laudatory stories about you, with such an example of how to encourage and lead young people.

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    4. Jay, I am sure you have written about Tony Dias on JRW before, but you can never write enough about him. It is people like Tony, who reach back and bring others along, who are the true heroes in this world. Your story about your mentor is inspiring.

      One of the things I love about this blog is how these seven fabulous writers make room for others to join them all of the time. How many "new" writers have you met here? Dozens!

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    5. Jay: thank you for your words today. such a great story.

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    6. How great that you were able to work with your mentor! And that you could tell him what it meant to you. And I agree with Karen that you've most likely had the same effect on many young people--and they have used your example to pass on a word of encouragement to someone else along the way.

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  6. Tracy, this is terrific! We're so glad to have you here today. Writing is so hard, especially at the beginning when you don't have a clue about what you're doing. I don't think I ever met Eleanor, but she was an amazing woman! it also really helps to have a support group--the Reds are my touchstone! And thank goodness I met Hallie early on and got connected with Sisters in Crime.

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    1. Thank you, Lucy! You would have loved Eleanor. And, yes, a supportive group is worth its weight in gold.

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  7. Congratulations on your new release! Looking forward to reading it.
    The authors who've herded me along the writing path could populate a small town. My thanks to all.

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  8. Thank you for sharing this beautiful tale, Tracy. What a blessing Bland took you under her wing!

    When I was starting out writing short crime fiction for the first incarnation of Level Best Books, I got a couple of (well-deserved) rejections. (Unlike you, I hadn't studied creative writing at all. I just jumped into it and taught myself to swim.) But Kate Flora wrote the nicest notes on those rejection letters. "You're a good writer. Keep at it." So I did.

    Then, when I attended the weekend Seascape workshop in 2009 with the shreds of my first novel clutched tightly in hand, Hallie gave me a piece of praise I still cherish. Sometimes it's those little bits of encouragement that make you think, "Maybe I can do this, after all."

    When Mosley was our Guest of Honor at Crime Bake a few years ago, at the banquet he went around the room to every person of color in attendance and spoke with them. I Loved that he did that.

    Best of luck with the new book!

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    1. Thank you, Edith. Where would we all be if we didn't have those people who took the time to give us those much-needed words of encouragement. I'm motivated to pay it forward at every turn.

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  9. What a wonderful essay and tribute. Keep writing!

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  10. What a wonderful essay. The Reds own Hank did something similar for me. I timidly asked her to read a novella I'd written. She emailed: "Can I call you?" I was so stunned that Hank Phillippi Ryan would take time out of her busy day to call little old me. Of course she could call me! That novella turned into a novel that has not been published, but Hank gave me the courage to write something else that led to my Laurel Highlands Mysteries series.

    Keep writing.

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    1. That's such a wonderful story, Liz. Hank's the best!!

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  11. What an amazing experience! I have heard that before, if you want to write you just need to write and keep writing. Easier said than done perhaps, but with the kind of encouragement you received it must make the struggle, not easier necessarily but worth it. We all need to encourage each other more and here at JRW it has been clear that that is what they are all about.

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    1. Yes, Judi, encouragement is everything and, often, all a new writer may need to keep them going. God bless those who freely give it.

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  12. I met Eleanor several times at signings and reading and was impressed with her talent, kindness, and generosity. She had the God-given talent of making you feel you were a good friend. Even though I know she would never remember me from our few brief encounters, a part of my heart was torn when she died. We all need mentors and supporters and I am glad that Eleanor could be one for Tracy.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jerry! Eleanor was very generous. There are so many writers out there who benefitted from her kindness. She motivated us all.

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  13. Tracy, Ms. Bland's generosity of spirit is something we should all strive for, and I suspect you have paid it forward yourself. Once we know how much a tiny compliment can mean and how much of a difference it can make, we are much more likely to adopt that behavior towards others. I think of it as a ripple in a pond; the mere splash in the middle that reaches to the very limits of the surface.

    When I wrote a nonfiction book on sewing for profit, a compilation of 130 interviews of sewing professionals all over the world (300 hours of phone interviews!), I was turned down by many publishers. I'd become friends with the queen of sewing books, Claire Shaeffer, and she took it upon herself to become my mentor. Claire sent me to every contact she had in the publishing world, to no avail. It wasn't really a "sewing" book, it fit more in the business category, but that was a very hard sell. Finally, I told her I was going to try self-publishing, which at that time (1994) was a bulky and messy process requiring printing at least 1,000 books and managing them myself. She gave her blessing, and asked me for the first copy, signed. We remain friends, and I still thank her for believing in me.

    I would not have been writing in that field in the first place without our local professional sewing group. I'd been selling insurance for years, and was burned out. I joined the local group to see if I could switch my career focus, and realized how much more there was to sewing for profit than just hemming pants and making bridesmaid's gowns. I offered to take over their monthly newsletter, and started doing local interviews each issue, which was hugely popular. When I tried to retire they made a unanimous decision to start paying me, and they doubled it a year later. Those interviews were the start of my book, and I am still grateful for those women believing in me. It started a 25-year writing career.

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    1. I love knowing this story from your past, Karen. thanks for sharing.

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    2. Karen, so wonderful. Yes. :-)

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  14. Congratulations, Tracy, on all of it: The courage to write; the courage to come out from Stanley's shadow; the courage to grab Eleanor's hand; and the courage to keep writing. It takes a lot of courage to get where you are, and you've earned every award and accolade.

    And, well, jeez, have I had someone to tell me to keep writing? How swelled do you want your head to be, Deb? The thing is, I was married to the man who told Deb she needed to take her writing seriously, and wrote big, red "Ugh"s on her pages when he thought she didn't. In response, she got all slitty-eyed and decided to show him, and y'all know what happened with her career. He was very proud of her abilities and accomplishments.

    Imagine how hesitant I was to show him my own writing! And yet, he was supportive. He did tell me he liked it, and not just to keep harmony in the house. He encouraged me to keep writing. After he died, Deb stepped up. Now she's the person who tells me to keep writing. She's the one who remembers that I'm a writer, even when I get massively sidetracked by work and life. Now we pester each other regularly for the next chapter. It's good. It's important. Everybody needs an outside source of encouragement, and Deb is mine.

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    1. Gigi, thanks for sharing some more of your personal history. You and Deb are so lucky to have one another's friendship and support. I have your wonderful books in my Kindle, and I think you should keep writing, too.

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    2. Yes, we are, Judy!! And I'm still laughing at Gigi describing me as getting "slitty-eyed."

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    3. Thank you, Judy. And you know you do, Deb. Sometimes. When it is warranted.

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    4. Friends who pester us to keep going: who could ask for better friends than that!?!?

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  15. Tracy, welcome to JRW and thank you for that inspirational essay about your incredible mentor. Of course, she did what we all should do, and that is to take the time to reach back and help others along. Your story made me realize once again, just how much encouragement and support mean to people, not just to writers. It is a special kind of person who can do what Eleanor Taylor Bland did for you and probably for other young writers, as well. I think there is a special gene that some people have who feel the need to bring out the best in others. I love your story, now I'm going to look for your books!

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    1. So true. It costs us nothing to motivate another writer, to take just a little time to keep them encourage enough to move forward. I learned that by watching Eleanor.

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  16. I wish I'd know Eleanor Bland. She was so loved and respected by everyone who did have that privilege. Tracy's essay made me think about some of the writers who encouraged me at those very first workshops and conferences, when I was hiding behind a different version of Stanley. Jan Grape, Carole Nelson Douglas, and lovely Bill Crider, who had kind words for so many newbie writers.

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  17. Tracy, congratulations on sitting at that keyboard and keeping on--and your latest book is coming out to the world! Thanks for sharing Eleanor with us today. A moment's encouragement can last a lifetime and multiply across many lives. And yes, here at JRW, we see that every week. A reader is revealed to be a writer and we all cheer at their success, a newbie is discovered elsewhere and invited to the blog--so many hands helping along the way. It's wonderful to see!

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    1. Thank you, Flora! You are so right. So many helping hands.

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  18. This is fabulous, Tracy and just what I needed today! I'm so glad you listened and kept writing!

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  19. What a wonderful piece! I didn't have a mentor and wasn't aware enough to take collegiate classes, but an early author inspired me to prove I could write a mystery as I slowly wrote through drafts trying to figure out what I was doing. (NOT a pantser.) Thank you for sharing this and your writing, for which we all benefit. Yes, keep writing — always!

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  20. GREAT POST! Thank you, Tracy. I'm printing this one out!

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  21. Great words, Tracy. Have I heard it before? Sure. As well said as you did? Not so sure. Do I still need to hear it from someone who knows? Yes, of course I do! I might have to print it out and hang it on the wall next to my computer. Thank you. A lot.

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  22. Kindness makes the world go round. Thank you for this essay on it, Tracy. I am off to look up your books.

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  23. Just what I needed today. Tracy, I may have been behind another one of those potted palms! How wonderful that Eleanor reached out to you and that you had the courage to take her hand. Keep writing!

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    1. Shari, thank you. We can share the next palm at the next big conference. LOL.

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  24. Knowing the power of kind words it is wonderful that you can gift that to others.

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  25. Thank you Tracy for sharing your story. Words tell it all. Congratulations on the book release!

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  26. I love this post, Tracy! I'm so glad she was there for you and that you followed through! Now, all of us readers can tell you, keep writing!

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  27. Amazing and inspiring, Tracy! So glad that you kept on writing!

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  28. I love this post so much! "Keep writing" -- no truer words were ever spoken. Congratulations, Tracy, I am thrilled by your success and I will now and forever always check the potted palms, the Stanleys, to see if there is a writer there who needs a cheery hello.

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    1. Thanks, Jenn. I think you will always find a writer behind a potted palm. We're like old library cats forced out into the sun. We have no idea what to do out there. LOL.

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  29. We wish Tracy could have joined us in the backblog.

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  30. Thank you for sharing this! A beautiful story of friendship and growth. May we all be so lucky!

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