Thanksgiving

As a Kiwi, Thanksgiving is a bit of the new concept for me. But I would like to say:

I am thankful for:

My mother, who is so far away but sent a Xmas in a box that arrived trailing red tinsel,

My friends--with a special shout out to Sandi (who is inviting me into her home for this holiday) and Sebastiene (who was my first friend in a new town and will be my friend from now on no matter what happens or where we are), and all my friends in distant places who make the effort to stay in touch over the years (that means you Judi and Erika), oh, and also Boone and the people I am not thinking of right now because I haven't had coffee yet,

My job where I am treated so well with decent benefits and sane (in fact wonderful) co-workers--it was a long time coming but I appreciate the hell out of having a low stress workplace with a decent wage,

Books--a lifeline for me all my life,

Writing--a chance to express myself--and my writing colleagues (including reviewers, publishers, artists, editors etc, I love to hear from you any time),

Readers who do me the great honor of deeming my work worth parting with their hard-earned money,

epublishers--which made this all possible especially Loose Id and Raven who have been with me through 15 ebooks now,

The internet--which made epublishing possible (and blogs),

My significant puppy--even though he destroyed the carpet,

Life, the universe and everything--just because.

Happy Thanksgiving, whether you are American or not, this might be a good time to pause and take some time to emphasise the positive.