What I'm Thankful For

My children. I love them dearly. My son gave me flowers last night and a note that said "Thank you for all your hard work. I love you Mom." I'm thankful for my husband. He smoked a turkey yesterday, all day, and since we are having ham, pork, and the smoked turkey I decided we had enough meat. This is the first year ever I am not cooking turkey on Thanksgiving and therefore I got to sleep in.I got into bed at 8pm and got out of bed at 7:30 this morning. Amazing. I cleaned and cooked all day yesterday and I will be cooking all day today, but it is easier without a huge turkey taking up my over space.

I'm thankful for family. I invited a guy from my English class to dinner because he had to work and could not travel home to Ohio to be with family. He is going to his best friend's house instead, but thanked me for the invite. I don't wish for people to be alone on holidays and if at all possible I would invite lots of people to my house. If you need a place to go, come on over! (That's my philosophy.) We have lots of food, a warm fire, and a reptile zoo. What more could you want?

I am thankful for a life changing year. 2013 is a complete 180 from what 2010 was for me. Now, most people I know know I'm a writer, many know the genre I write, and a few have read my writing. People online know (for the most part) that I am a woman. Not that I ever said I was a man, but now (since February, I think) I correct people. My bio reflects that I have children and says "she" after all. And I figured out that the number of people I actually "fear" in my town is about 3. THREE PEOPLE and they have me cowering in a corner for years. Really? Yeah, I'm over that. Do I still worry? You're darn tootin'! But that is because I hate confrontation. I hate the idea that someone could stir up crap about me and hurt my family in the process. And over what? My support of GAY RIGHTS. Because basically that is it. It started as me (a straight woman) writing gay fiction. And then morphed into me influencing youth to BE gay. (Untrue) And then someone asked if I WAS GAY? It was a whole lot of crap. I am a writer. I have a vast imagination. And apparently I am pretty darn good at it if you think (from my writing) that I am a gay MAN. Go me! But it is not my intention to deceive, only to protect my family.

I'm thankful for openness. This spins off of the previous paragraph, but I am thankful I am not really hiding anymore. I AM however cautious. I do want to be careful because I live in a conservative town. I read whether or not a person will get crappy with me before I say I write gay fiction. I start with "I'm a romance writer." That is a way easier place to start. But person by person I am opening up, so this has been a good year. And I also connected me WADE KELLY with the former me Linda Reilly. All total, I have written 4 novels and 2 short stories. I like those numbers.

I am thankful that I have finished writing another book. Names Can Never Hurt Me took over a year to write and I am glad it is done and submitted. My fingers are still crossed that I get offered a contract on it. As soon as I hear, I will let you all know! It has been 3 weeks and 4 days since submission.

I am thankful for my health. All thought I am not the healthiest person around, I do have good blood pressure and for the most part I remain sickness free. I need to be well to take care of my family. My husband is the one with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stressful job etc. I need to be healthy to take care of him! I am also thankful my mom is still alive. My dad died almost 2 years ago and it has been hard for her. And I am glad my brother lives with her so he can take care of her.

I am also extremely thankful for all my fans who continue to support me and read my stuff and review it and recommend it, etc. You all are wonderful. I need you! I will try to make 2014 a better year for fans as I am trying very hard to write consistently and finish manuscripts in order to submit them in a timely manner. I want to bring you more to read. Hang in there. 2013 has been a pivotal year for me!

Much love!

Wade <3