The Sisterhood of Gingers

Most nights, I don't sleep. Well, that's not exactly true. I generally fall asleep at some point and manage to get about 6 hours or so. The truth is, I don't sleep for more than two hours at a time. My brain is constantly going, plotting stories, scheming to get my characters out of a dastardly situation or two, and perhaps, checking my social media accounts for any action in the middle of the night.

I had just posted a TikTok video a few hours earlier, and I had DM my new followers a message with a link to my books. (OK - so no nasty comments here. I was a newbie to social media. I don't do that anymore!!!) But she didn't hate on me. She's not the hating kinda girl. Fiery redhead. Absolutely.

Needless to say, instead of brushing me off, we followed each other on social media.

When I woke up in the morning, I saw that someone had binge read my Vella on Amazon, The Illusion of Reality, while I slept. This is not a normal occurrence as Vella is still in its infancy. Not only did she read it, but she reviewed it on her site. Yeah! First public book review.

So, this was a weird situation. Right? Turns out, she's a PA/editor and all that, and I was an indie author without a clue, just starting my journey. I am still an indie author, but I have learned a bit since then.

Little by little, we became friends. Then I thought, isn't this kind of like the 1970s when they had pen pals? That was acceptable, right? So, she's my social media pen pal! We have never met in person but have talked here and there since then.

From halfway across the country, I found a friend. Absolutely crazy but true. We get up to shenanigans in our own way. Sometimes I will be sitting there watching TV at night, and we start texting about anything and everything, like books, how to make covers, AI-generated catastrophes, plots, and misbehaving characters.

Then there are the angry emojis! Yes! We share those too! Not at each other. Hmmm. Work frustrations. Students that think they are in control. Unruly coworkers. Stressors at home and in the book world. Meals gone awry.

Along the way, she edited my book, The Origins of Darkness, and we are still friends! It was a stressful time with tight deadlines. We lived through her getting banned on my launch day, not able to promote my new book. The same weekend, she was dealing with losing an author to another PA. It was such a crazy time, a roller coaster of emotions for both of us.

I probably gave her a thousand micro heart attacks over the years. Try keeping my crazy brain focused on just one story. Impossible. I gave myself away one night when I sent an AI picture to her.

"What is this for? A new Vella?"

Sheepishly not wanting to answer but unable to lie. "Yes."

"Which one?"

"The Servant. Don't worry. I will just work on it in the background and concentrate on the list we agreed to."

OK, so if you believe that lie. Needless to say, I drive her crazy. We are still friends!

Now she's reading another Vella of mine, The Treachery of Darkness, part of the Origins series (That's not the important part!)

She got to the Episode, The King is Dead and was waiting for the next episode to drop since I left the ending with a deliberate cliffhanger. She kept trying to guess who was dead, Remus or William. Did I let her know? Nope. I changed the subject!

A few weeks later, I sent her a picture of a pending Vella, and she replied, "LOL, level 9 mean. Bahahhaaa!"

I replied, "It's supposed to be lighthearted. Is it funny or corny?"

As any good friend would do, she replied, "I think it's funny!"

This is my snapshot side of the story. Hopefully, we will tell more tales together in the future. For now, I am glad I broke the social norms and have this ginger as a dear friend in my life, even if she is half a county away.

Something is up because she just texted, "How do you take your coffee? I need it for the book."

That will have to be a tale for another day!

In all seriousness, you still always need to be careful with your friends on FB and social media. There are lots of trolls out there. I get a couple every week that I need to ban for trying to sell me something. Then there was the one we tried to call me and send unwanted photos. Gross! He was deleted and banned within seconds. Be careful!

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Thanks a million for reading my stories, and I hope you enjoyed the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

~ KAS