I spent several hours last night in the delightful company of a group of slightly wacky and totally wonderful friends. We call ourselves PBS -- the Pink Bra Society and guess what we're expected to wear to each gathering! Along with other clothes, of course!
We started out as a group of four, all from the book world, and at that point were known as WDGOM (We Don't Get Out Much), although we found that finding a free evening in common was becoming increasingly more difficult so the name had to go.
As we added more members, mostly again from publishing, we came up with PBS, in honour of one of our own, a breast cancer survivor. Also, because none of us are quite ready to join the Red Hat ladies.
So, we sat out on the deck in the heat and humidity but saved by a nice breeze, shared lots of food and wine and our lives. We all love laughing; we're there to listen and support each other; and, we're great friends.
That's a real life community. I write about a fictional community of friends who together, read books and fight crime. That may be putting it a bit strongly...they read and sleuth. But it's the friendship and community that are integral to the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries.
The majority of cosy mysteries revolve around friendship and although the crimes can be as devastating as in a harder boiled mystery, it's the manner in which the crimes are described and solved that mark the difference. Friendship, community counts in a cosy.
As in real life!
Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com
Nice,Linda. And it is an honour to be part of our community of ladies & to proudly wear a pink bra in your company. Here's to us all!
ReplyDelete