Wednesday, November 15, 2006

I love cafés—especially the ones devoted to coffees and pastries—where you can curl up in a comfy chair with a book, or mooch free Wi-Fi and catch up on email, or simply sit and sip in the company of good friends.

And the latter is just what I was doing in that profile picture of Becky, Susan, and me. I consider it no small blessing to call my fellow fiction editors my friends. Rather, it’s a huge blessing that after forty hours together, week after week, I couldn’t wait to get up “early” this past Saturday morning and meet my coworkers (my boss, even!) for a day of shopping and fun. (Forgive the repetition—shopping and fun are synonymous, right? I think so!)

The friends I’ve made so far are the greatest blessing of working in Christian publishing. I’m still somewhat of a newbie, so I haven’t gotten over the thrill of being here. I hope I never do. I’m gratefully amazed that God has put me in the career that I’ve dreamed about since junior high. Back then I dreamed of a job where I could read, write, and edit books that told great stories and pointed to Jesus. And here I am. What I didn’t even think to dream about were the wonderful relationships that would go along with those books. They are yet one more way that God has given “immeasurably more” than what I imagined.

And so, I hope you enjoy coming to our Edit Café. I hope that what you read here will encourage you. Most of all, I hope that as you get to know us better, we might build great relationships — preferably even friendships!

14 comments:

Mary Connealy said...

Hi JoAnne, I wish I could have been at the ACFW conference to meet you. I got your email this morning about the author bio. I'm looking forward to what you have planned for this blog. A great idea.
You CANNOT believe how hard I'm trying to use good grammar and not misspell anything. --And why is the word misspell so hard to spell? Huh? One of those great ironies, like 'Alzheimer’s' being so hard to remember and 'lisp' being so hard to pronounce.

No Name said...

JoAnne! I was soooo happy to meet you at the ACFW Conference. Loved that Mexican breakfast thing you got and have been drooling over it every since. I'm looking forward to your posts and getting to know you better. Candice

Mary Connealy said...

I just linked Edit Cafe to my blog. It only took me sixteen tries. I am really getting onto this internet stuff. Mary Connealy

Rhonda Gibson said...

Hey JoAnne!

I am so happy you are a part of this winning team of editors. I'm enjoying working with you.

Rhonda ~

Gail Gaymer Martin said...

Hi JoAnne - Nice to see you "in person." Congrats on the blog. I think it's really great.

Wishing you the best

Gail Gaymer Martin
www.gailmartin.com

Lena Nelson Dooley said...

JoAnne, I love this idea of having y'all on a blog. What fun it was to meet you at the ACFW conference. I look forward to hopefully many years of working with you.
It is wonderful that you are right where you dreamed of being. God puts those desires in our hearts and in His timing, he calls them forth into reality. Welcome to your godly reality.

Jeri Odell said...

Hey you! I loved reading your blog because it reflects my own heart. I stand amazed at the privilege of being called by God to write. And the privilege of working with the Barbie girls. Looking forward to a long and rich relationship.

Beth Goddard said...

Great idea for a blog!

Beth

Colleen Coble said...

Coffee, did someone say coffee? Gosh you gals are my kind of women! Wifi, chocolate and coffee, there is no better combo!

Great blog!

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

JoAnne, it was great meeting you in Dallas at the ACFW conference and chatting with you. I pray we'll get to work together as editor and author one day soon. In the meantime, I look forward to getting to know all 3 of you ladies better with this blog.

Definitely going in the links on my blog.

Gina Conroy said...

I'm linking to you all also!

Unknown said...

Hi Darlin!

I'm going to "amen" everything you said. I, too, am gratefully amazed that God has put me in a job where I can read, write and edit books that tell great stories and point to Jesus. And I'm so thrilled you've given me the opportunity to do just that. I'm blessed to get to know you, (even more blessed to get to work with you) and feel we're going to be "forever friends."

Anonymous said...

Hi JoAnne!
It was great to meet you in person at Dallas and it's been a pleasure to work with you the past few months!
What a great idea you three came up with--I'm looking forward to visiting with you, Becky and Susan here!
JanetB

Janet Lee Barton

Sandra Robbins said...

JoAnne, I was so glad to meet you at the ACFW conference in Dallas. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

Sandra Robbins