I Hate to Say Goodbye

I hate goodbyes. Probably because I hate to cry. Not so much because I hate change. I’m a big fan of positive change, of possibility and potential, but sometimes I have to remind myself that I’ll find those three P’s beyond the good-bye that has words stuck in my throat. Now, I’ve come to another good-bye, and I’m staring at the ground, kicking at the dirt with my shoe, forcing back the tears, and trying to remember those three P’s.

I started out writing blog posts weekly for Writers Who Kill at the beginning of the year. I only knew one member of the blog group when I began, Warren Bull, who’s in the Kansas/Missouri chapter of Sisters in Crime known as Border Crimes with me. It was Warren who invited me to join WWK, and I’ll always be grateful to him for that invitation.

Now, it’s time for me to leave as a regular blogger on WWK since my life has moved into overdrive, and I need to take some pressure off for a while. It’s hard to do because all of these bloggers I didn’t know have since become my friends. I’ve had the pleasure to meet Elaine and Gloria in person at Malice Domestic this year, but I feel as if I’d met Kara, K.B., Jim, and Alyx, as well. We’ve been emailing back and forth several times a week for many months, in addition to commenting on each other’s blogs. And I will miss them all.

I have also come to know many of you who are regular followers of this blog. I think we have a lot of Guppies who read and comment on WWK, and that’s been a treat for me. Because of the way I came to mystery writing, I didn’t have a chance to be a Guppy. I spent my Great Unpublished years flailing alone. I so admire those who work hard in this program to help other writers and make opportunities for them—and the Guppies seem such a fun group! For a while, as a WWK blogger, I had the chance to feel that I was an honorary Guppy, and I’m grateful for that good fortune. I will miss all of our wonderful regular (and sometime) back bloggers, also.

I won’t just leave WWK and forget it and all of you, however. On occasion, I’ll come back for a guest post, and you’ll definitely see me sometimes still commenting on my blog pals’ posts. And I hope, if you see me at Bouchercon or anywhere else, you’ll come up and introduce yourself, so we can meet in person. So, here’s a quick smooch on the cheek, and I’m heading real fast out the door, so I don’t embarrass myself. I refuse to say good-bye, just au revoir.