Thankful

On this Thanksgiving I am thankful for:

1. Getting a new job when I least expected it. I almost didn't even apply, because the job posting listed a Masters degree as a desired qualification. I don't have one, and I figured in this economy they'd get plenty of applicants who did. But I interviewed, was offered the job the very next day, and I start 12/9.

2. Finishing a good draft of my alternative history. Time to go back to the scary but exhilarating process of submitting to editors and agents, at long last.

3. My family--a supportive and loving husband and a beautiful daughter who's loving kindergarten and having fun learning to read on her own.

It's been a long year, and in many ways a hard one. But with the new job and the completed novel, I'm looking forward to the holiday season and feeling cautiously optimistic for 2010.