All today, I’ve been floating on Cloud Nine. My good friend Claire — and dog-walking buddy — heard about my YA novel and asked me about it as we were walking our dogs, Ryder and Monty. I emailed her the first few chapters and received a great note back from her saying how much she was enjoying them. Then she asked to read more! What sweeter music can there be to a writer’s ears?

I hoofed it over to her house with the next set of chapters and we sat over tea discussing my characters. It was so much fun, because we were chatting about them almost as if they were real people! Claire’s feedback means a lot to me, because she actually works with adolescents, including many girls.

She thinks that my little heroine is going to be a helpful role model for girls, which is one of my fondest hopes for the book. Claire especially liked an episode in which she makes a big mistake out of her love for another character and is told by her guardian that she has to take responsibility for her action and fix it. Claire said she felt that this concept of taking responsibility is really important for kids, but not one they hear about much in our culture. Wow — that made me feel like a million bucks!

Even though I have a long way to go in my revision process, my friend’s comments were so helpful and encouraging. They made me feel that all my work has been worthwhile — and have inspired me to keep going. Thanks Claire!