Rani's Favorite Things: Buddies to the end

Hi guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. It’s the start of August, but we’re tacking today’s topic onto the end of our July series, because I don’t like to split my weeks in half. So, we’re talking about some of my favorite things! Still. Since I still had one more thing to talk about. You know how it is.

Anyway. This month has been a lot of fun for me, and I’ve really learned a lot about myself along the way. I’ve remembered a lot of things I think I’d pushed to the back of my mind for so long that I just didn’t consider them to exist at all. I really think it’s a good learning lesson for all of us, to sit down and think about our favorite things, think about why those are our favorite things, and even determine what effect those things have had on our lives. And today, I technically have six more favorite things, to talk to you about.

Rani’s Favorite People: My friends

In particular, I’m thinking of Devon, Andrew, Tammy, Nicole, Holly, and Casey. They’re the friends I consider myself the closest with, though some of them I don’t get to see very often, and some of them I only speak with on occasion. These are the people who’ve helped to shape my life into what it is today, through the friendship we’ve shared along the way. These are the people who I’ve been friends with through all sorts of ups and downs, and who I know I’ll be friends with for years to come. These are the people who I know won’t grow apart from me, because I refuse to let that happen.

And I think we all need people like this. We all need our inner circle, our group of friends we can go to about anything and everything. Our people we can laugh and cry with, our people we can share with. Our people.

They’re who I want to celebrate today, because they’re some of my favorite people ever.

I won’t bore you with the stories of how we met (though some of them are pretty funny), nor will I tell you why I picked these six people to talk about today, but I will tell you what they mean to me, and how they’ve affected my writing over the years.

They’ve been there, since the beginning. All of them, actually. They’ve been my friends longer than I’ve been writing. Some of them even proofread Telekinetic before its official release. Others have been around to read every single draft of every single book I’ve read. Others have only read a little bit, because their lives are insanely busy. But they’ve always been there to support me, from the beginning. And they’ve always been there, checking in, making sure I never stop writing. Because I think they all knew, some of them even before I did, that writing was in my blood.

They’ve helped me, along the way. Whether it was beta reading, proofreading, concept help, or even getting my facts right about the rearing of horses, these are the friends who have helped me in my writing, from start to finish. Some have even helped and encouraged me to start recording my books in audio format (they’re long, guys; don’t expect to see them this year). I love them, for that. I love them for all their encouragement, and their willingness to beta read things that I’m not even sure are ready for human eyes.

Some of them have even co-written, with me. One of them, in fact, is writing a novel with me right now. Others have written short stories with me. Others have written things and sent them to me, to make sure those things were good. And I love that these people know they can come to me, for things like that. Whether it be writing a poem to their sweetheart or trying to get an A on their next paper, they know I’m always here for them.

That, after all, is what really makes a friendship. They’re my friends, yes, but I’m their friend, too. And I’d do anything for those five people. Anything.

Love you guys.

[love]

{Rani Divine}