Today is a good day.

First of all, I'm on my way to NYC today, for BEA. If you're going to be there, scroll down to my previous entry to see where and when you can get an ARC of BLOOD BOUND and/or IF I DIE.

Today I'm stuck in the San Antonio airport (yes, just a few miles from my own house) waiting out a weather delay rooted in Dallas. The plane goes straight through to NYC, so hopefully that means I can't miss my connection, no matter how late the flight is. But I have heard otherwise. Wish me luck.

Yesterday I got a Facebook comment from one of my very best friends from high school, wishing me a safe trip today. (It's like she KNEW there'd be weather!) So, naturally, I clicked over to visit her Facebook profile. I hadn't been in a while, and she'd posted a picture of herself as a child. In the photo, I also recognized a couple of other people I went to high school with, one of whom is a very talented artist. I mean VERY talented.

He and I didn't have much social contact in high school. We ran in different circles. (I was a proud band nerd and most of my friends were in the band.) But I have only good memories of him, and one in particular stands out. After graduation, he showed up at a party my friend (who left me the comment yesterday) threw and we spoke a little. And he remembered that I liked to write. He said he hoped I'd be able to do something with my writing. I hoped he'd be able to do something with his art. That was the last time I spoke to him, and I haven't seen him or thought of him since, until yesterday.

So I clicked on the pictures in his Facebook profile, and I was STUNNED. He's now an AMAZING painter. So incredibly talented. I sat there studying his paintings, feeling so happy for him, that he's living his dream. Doing it for real, in the grownup world.

Then it occurred to me that I'm doing the same thing. I'm living my dream. I'm making a living from my writing. Subsisting on intellectual property. I am a very, very lucky woman.

This job is hard, and it's stressful. There's always something to worry about. Someone who's doing better than you are or getting more attention than you are. There are worries about sales, marketing, covers, list placement, and all kinds of things that never crossed my mind until five years ago. But the bottom line is that I have those worries because I'm fortunate enough to have this job. Because I stuck with my dream and was fortunate enough to receive just the right lucky breaks (mentor, agent, editor) at just the right time. (You can't get there on your own. You just can't.)

Today, I am grateful. I love my life. I love my job. And if either of those were easy, I'd be afraid I was dreaming.

Today is a good day.