For you from Jungle Red: Almost a Poem!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Happy weird week between Christmas and New Years!

I'm doing my holiday cards today. No comment.

And (as always, with my apologizes to Clement Moore and Dr.Seuss) here's a holiday gift poem from your grateful Jungle Reds. And another gift below! 

TOASTING JULIA AT BOUCHERCON!  Next year, we will all be together.

'Twas two days after Christmas

And all through this site

Not a blogger was working

Not even to write.

Our books were all saved on our cloud files with care

In hopes that bestseller lists soon would be there.

Our new novels were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of royalties danced in our heads.

The Jungle Red sisters, (four east and four west)

Had just settled our brains for a well-deserved rest.

But while closing our eyes, what sweet dreams did appear?

All the Jungle Red news that had changed us last year.

There was glory of course, (may her sales still increase)

Farleigh Field sold a billion—applause to our Rhys!

Key West took a hit, though, alas and alack

But with Lucy at keyboard, we know they’ll be back.

Hallie always will rock it, and as we should know:

Her creepy new doll book –won Best Au-di-o!

And Hank’s still applauding, it brought her great cheer

When her book was dubbed a best of the year!

Debs’ Gemma and James wow in book—sev’nteen?

Our Julia’s writing—superfabulous keen!

Plus what to our widening eyes did appear

Two perfect new Reds!

Jenn and Ingrid are here!

  

 But what makes us the happiest—keeps every day new?

We knew in a moment—it’s our blogging crew!

You listen, you chatter, you join in the game

We cheer you, we love you, we call you by name!

Thanks, DebRo! Thanks Edith! Thanks beloved Joan E!

Both Karens, and Lesa, and darling Pat D.

Hail Ramona, and Susan, Gigi and Mare

We hope Jim and Amanda will always be there

Here’s to Reine, and Danielle, and to Mary (there’s two)

To Grace, Mark and Judi—good tidings to you!

Same for Karen (in O), and Gram Cootie as well,

And dear Mary Garrett--the stories she’ll tell!

To Flora, and Marianne, and Keenan (whoo hoo!)

To Coralee, Biblio—we always thank you!

Kaye Barley, we love you, and love to Don, too.

(We know that this year’s been a big one for you!)

Our guest bloggers were stellar:

Fairstein and James

Strawser, Gard'ner and Brennan…hard to list all their names!

To Delia, and Kristopher (king of the list!)

To Kathy B. Reel--consider you're kissed.

Hail to Kait, and to Margaret—hail Ann, of course, too 

Hail “Anonymous” also--love hearing from you!

And all hail dear Ross, we now raise a sweet toast

You brought us all happiness—we all miss you. The most.

We had memories, recipes, tales of our youth

We’ve had jokes, and disasters, and telling the truth.

To the top of the lists! To the top of them all!

We’re revising, and writing, and sharing our call!

As dry words before our reviser’s pen fly

When they meet with cliché, and we fix them (we try):

We’re almost at New Years, and our thoughts go to you

May you write perfect books, may your wishes come true!

May you waste not a word, may you write fresh and new

And fill all your stories with mysteries and clues

And remember: on days that things don’t turn out right

And you wonder if this was a fraud and a fright

You have sisters on line—there are eight of us here!

And each one is wishing you all-the-year cheer.

And we all say—we love you! ‘Fore you click from our site--

Happy Holidays to All

—and long may you Write!

HANK: Here's an alternate ending:
And we all say--we love you! Good new year, indeed!
Much joy to you all--and long may you read!

And to that end: a selection of Jungle Red books to one lucky commenter! Happy holiday week, everyone!

We're TEN!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Wow. I just had the most amazing trip down the Reds memory lane. I've read the first two months of Jungle Red blogs!  It wasn't just for nostalgia's sake, and more on that in a minute. 

But amazing fact number one:  We've been blogging as Jungle Red, in various incarnations, for ten years! Since March of 2007.
2007! TEN YEARS!

That was the year Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the house, the first iPhone was released (at a price of $599), the housing bubble burst (with mortgage defaults up 93 % from the year before). It was the year of the Greensburg tornado, and Virginia Tech. Bob Barker left Price is Right. The Departed won Best Picture. (And the Red Sox won the World series, just saying.)

Our first blogs were SO different from the ones you see now. The first one, halting and uncertain and self-conscious was a conversation, sort of, about first lines. (So we're stayed on topic all these years) . But it had no photos. 


Reading back over those blogs (don't, okay?) you can tell it took us a while to find the Jungle Red voice. I love that evolution.

And since that day? We've had 4.5 million page views. Four point five million page views!  Something is keeping this baby going. And you know what? It's all of you. And for that we are infinitely grateful.

But we wanna know: Why do you keep coming back? What do you hear or see or enjoy? And when you read the Reds, do you do it on your desktop, or laptop, or phone? Do the photos work? Do you have any technical issues?  

Reds, what do you think about our Jungle world? 

HALLIE EPHRON: I remember the early days... Hank, you started it, didn't you? And I wasn't at all sure it would catch on. In the early days we didn't blog every day. Now it's a part of my daily routine and I look forward to hearing from so many regulars and surfacing lurkers.

And remember the Jungle Red quiz we'd ask of all our guests... 
Pizza or chocolate?
Audrey or Katharine Hepburn?
Restaurant or eat in?
It got a little tired so we stopped but it was pretty cute.

HANK: Oh, I loved the quiz! And yes, I was a founding member with Jan Brogan and Rosemary Harris--but Hallie, you came fourth, right? And started from day one.

Note Ross in the background here!

INGRID THOFT: Tin or diamonds?  That’s the question to be answered on one’s 10th anniversary!  The traditional wedding gift is tin, and diamonds is perhaps a bit extravagant, but ten years of original content and community is surely worth celebrating!  I’m relatively new to Jungle Reds, and I’m still a bit awestruck by the company I’m keeping.  Hank, Hallie, Julia, Lucy, Rhys, Debs, and my fellow newbie, Jenn, are smart, gracious, and talented, and I’m proud to share the masthead of Jungle Red with them.  I’m also amazed by the readers and commenters who show up each day with thoughtful, insightful, and entertaining comments.  There wouldn’t be a Jungle Red without all of you, so bravo, everyone!

LUCY BURDETTE: At the risk of sounding self congratulatory, hooray for the Reds! Ingrid has it right – it's not just the writing reds gang, it's our blog commenters who really make this a fabulous community. I was so pleased to be invited to join this group in the second wave of additions. I had no idea it would be so much work, but also a fantastic way for a writer to feel she's not alone. Of course I would prefer we all lived in the same town and could have potluck block parties, but since that's not possible, this is the next best thing.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Ten years! And do you know I had no idea exactly when Julia and I joined the blog? I had to hunt through the posts until I found my first one--January 10th, 2011. I can't believe it's been nearly seven years. Time flies when you're having fun, right? And I do mean that seriously. I can't imagine a day without Jungle Red. We are so lucky to have this ongoing conversation every day with friends all over the country--and I know there are lots of you out there who read and don't comment, but we love that you're there.

I did go back and read some of the very early posts, and while I'll agree that we are a bit more polished now, I think those early entries were adorable. And now I'm wondering how we could organize a virtual potluck....

JENN MCKINLAY: Debs, I make a killer mac and cheese which I am happy to bring to the potluck. Oh, and Ingrid, I'm voting for diamonds - in fact, can we all have tiaras? Even though I am a newbie to Jungle Red, the kinship I have found in the Reds community has been the greatest reward for me. I've met a lot of people in the writing world, but I can honestly say, I've never met a nicer or more supportive group than the people here. Thanks for inviting me to the party and here's to ten more entertaining, illuminating, and fascinating years! 

HANK: Yes, yes, ten years at least! And tiaras for everyone.

RHYS BOWEN: Jenn, yes, we all need tiaras! I was the first geographically different person to join the Reds, I'm not sure how many years ago. Almost ten, surely. Until then they had all been clustered in the North East and I think I was invited as a token westerner! My one disadvantage being that I could never comment until three hours after everyone else. But what a joy it has been, chatting with these amazing women every day. I never had sisters and this feels like a group of sisters (without the bitchiness and petty jealousies and 'mom always liked you best!) I
I think we have every right to be proud. Not only have we survived when we have watched other blogs come and go, but we have thrived. Our audience has grown. We have become a respected PR source for publishers who beg us to have their writers as guests. And we have built up an amazing and loyal community. So I'm raising my virtual glass. Here's to the next ten years, Reds community!

HANK: Yes, yes, yes, Reds. Cheers!  (Julia is on family business, and will be back soon.)

 So--five big things, well, six:

1. We're giving away books! EIGHT winners will be chosen at random--and each person will get a book from a Red!

2.  We need your input and help--what works about Jungle Red? Why are you here? Do you love guests, chats, writing life, reading life, everyday life, all of the above?  Do you read on a phone or a desktop or laptop? Does it look okay? DO you check in every day?

3. Check in! We'd love to know who . you are and where--time for lurkers to say hi. We'd love to meet you! 

4. Thank you thank you thank you thank you--each and every one of you is a treasure. We are incredibly grateful, and we are planing the huge party. Somehow. Somewhere. (what will you bring?)

5. And don't forget--comment to enter your name for a Reds book. 

6. WE LOVE YOU!