Prill, she was another favorite of mine. I connected with her because my sister was going through radiation treatments for breast cancer while I was reading your book this summer.

Her statement about life beginning with the diagnosis is so encouraging for women to hear. Many women think death sentence, while others think life!

Well, heck yes, JJ. Why NOT count yourself? (Personally, I accept all compliments, no matter where they come from. ) P.S. I might be sweet, but I ain't no saint.

Dotsie-- I agree. The heart of Jean's story is about turning a negative into a positive. To me, she's a hero.

I'm glad you brought up your sister. I've been wondering how she's doing and keeping her in my prayers.

Evie-- Excel in 6th grade! Really? I'm pretty tech-savvy, but I'm a Neanderthal compared to my kids. My oldest designed my website for me and maintained it for a while. He's even busier than I am, though, and would get grumpy whenever I'd ask him to update it. I finally had him teach me how to do it myself. It's easy.

Websites--that's a whole other topic. They're great for promotion, and there's lots you can do to increase your hits.

I don't think I'd even be on the computer if it weren't for my kids teaching me everything about using one.
Where would Bill Gates be without teenagers?

I'll confess to being the computer hog in my family - my kids are always complaining they can't get on the computer because I'm on it

I guess I come by it honestly. My dad was one of the first in our area to use computers for accounting and preparing taxes - we had a computer in our house before most (of course, it was the "work" computer so it wasn't for fooling around on - not that you could do much on them back in those days). He would have been in his early 50's then.

Today, in his 70's, he's still up on a lot of the latest computer technology and would be on the computer a lot if not slowed down by arthritis

TVC15-- Guess you're right. Where would Bill Gates be?

Evie-- I can relate. My dad, too, was one of the first in our community to get a computer. He was an engineer and really into gadgets of any kind.

Just arrived in L.A. I'll have more thoughts to share later.

One more thought about websites. Many of you already have wonderful ones. But if you're a published writer and don't yet have a "hidden" press page on your site, I highly recommend that you put one together. On mine, I have downloadable high-resolution jpegs of my book cover as well as my publicity shots. I also have a downloadable pdf file of my press release, plus contact information. It's a work in progress. Having recently redone all my press materials, I need to update it again. The bottom line is that I've directed the media to this page again and again, with great results.

On an unrelated note, I'm meeting my dear friend Nancy in a few minutes. (She's the person whose e-mail I shared with you last week after my breathing scare.) At this time of my life, I think my girlfriends are as important to me as my husband, mother and children. I don't want to, or need to, rank anyone. My family and friends fill different roles in my life. My point is that I doubt I would have persisted in writing my book without all the support my girlfriends gave me. I'm certain I wouldn't be the person I am today without their love and encouragement.

For years, my closest friends were men. The woman I was closest to was my mom. Nancy is the one who made me realize that I needed to put more energy into my female friendships. About a decade ago, she said to me, "Prill, your mom is going to die. Your sons are going to grow up. And, statistically, you'll probably outlive your husband. Who's going to be there for you then? Your girlfriends, that's who!

Hi, Prill:
I'm a new member and I just ordered your book. I have three sisters; all three of us changed careers in mid-life. My older sister had been a pediatrician for more than 20 years when she decided one day that she'd really always wanted to be a lawyer. So at nearly 50, she went to law school and is now practicing law and loving it. My younger sister was an advertising executive pulling in the big bucks when she decided at 40 to enter the ministry. Now she is ordained and has her own church... And I operated computer businesses, overseeing programming and applications development when I realized that I'd really always wanted to be a novelist. So here I am, with two suspense/thrillers on the market and another in the hopper... I thought my sisters and I were unique until Dotsie recommended that I read the posts in your forum. Now I can't wait to read your book!

Yuhooo...Trishhhhh...so glad you've joined us girlfriend!

All--this is a friend of Pam's who fortunately for me, Pam introduced me to. Isn't she cool?

You must check out her books.

JJ