Round of Applause

I am writing this piece to share my uncontainable joy (yes, it's that over-the-top) in finding my 'clan' of creators. I really wanted to use conclave, but well, it's not a secret now if it ever was.

I very much wanted to do this at the end of last year as a sort of recap, but the days got away from me. The holidays are not a prolific writing time as I am busy doing all the good things with my family. And I have no regrets.

So here it is now, a few weeks later than intended but in no way less meaningful. I've included a quick glimpse of those creators I interact with the most. I hope you take a moment to possibly look at their work, and consider engaging in some facebook groups as that is where this journey all began.

I do want to stress the word 'engage' as simply dropping links all over the place with no reciprocation or commenting (either on fb or on Vocal comments) is not how to make long-lasting, creative friends or get your work seen. Sermon over.

I was publishing on the Vocal platform for at least 10-11 months before I found the first two fb groups in an article by Call Me Les. Those groups changed my writing life. I finally had people to share my passion with, give feedback, get feedback, and simply interact.

From there I stumbled upon more and more, seeing familiar faces and finding new ones. It was when I was invited by Rick Henry to his group Vocal+Assist that things got even better. And here we are today :)

I have a community of individuals that all bring different strengths, styles, endless creativity, positivity, real emotion and true camaraderie. I absolutely love that so many different areas of the world are represented. Due to the time differences, I often wake up to a slew of notifications that always make me smile.

And a very quick aside to say that this list is in no way meant to exclude or sideline anyone not mentioned. My 'clan' is constantly evolving as new friends come in and others need to take breaks for a time. I'm sure I'll look back at this in a few weeks or months and realize it's changed again. I've also put everyone in alphabetical order so no significance is given to placement.

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Cathy - Cathy is a real gem! She makes me laugh with her witty humor and blows me away with her incredible talent. I love our banter and know that with her, still waters run deep. She has so much to offer and always lends a listening ear, mostly listening to me vent or whine, lol. We both speak sarcasm fluently. I can always count on her to be one of the first to read my new works. She writes so many things from silly-but-clever articles featuring her cat Abigail, to heart-wrenching poetry, to gripping short stories. You can't go wrong with anything she writes.

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Dharrsheena - From the first fb group interaction I had to this very day, Dharrsheena has been such a bright light in every way possible. She is a champion for all and the most genuine person, always reading and encouraging. I love her quick wit and quirky sense of humor (which we share). I always know she is in my corner, reading my works, giving me feedback and sharing fun inside jokes. I admire the inner strength she shows in dealing with difficult situations. She writes very deep, thoughtful poetry as well as very clever horror stories, and incredible articles about nutrition and real life crime just to name a few.

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Mike - Mike has also been a supporter and kind friend from the beginning, always offering advice, never acting competitive, and being a genuine sounding board. He has helped and guided me with so many things including using Twitter, Vocal's ambassador program and much much more. He is always quick to lend a listening ear, day or night (I think sometimes he doesn't sleep, lol). He writes about things he enjoys and has a very creative mind. If you want to read about a beautiful sonnet, a music review, an inventive piece of fiction or want to see some sweet kittens, you will find it all on his site. He has over 1000 stories on Vocal, so there is something for everyone, I promise!

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Thavien - Thavien is a creator that I've become more and more familiar with over the last few months. He is a wonderful sounding board, genius poet, a really good listener and the best commenter. In fact multiple times, his on-the-spot comments have led to his own publications they are so great! I value his feedback and trust his judgement when it comes to figuring out what photos to use, if I should change wording, if I should publish the stupid thing at all. He has a great sense of humor and an incredibly quick wit. I appreciate his friendship. He writes a lot of epic stories with amazingly complex storylines, and writes poetry with an ease that would make you jealous.

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Veronica - Veronica is another person I met from the beginning of my fb group journey. She is such a kind and thoughtful soul. Always offering up such helpful feedback and leaving encouraging comments. She sent me my first "author gift"–a beautiful heart-shaped necklace that reminded her of my first story on Vocal. It is a great treasure, and I value her input and friendship. She writes, sings and draws always with such a realness and honesty that you can't help but be drawn in. She has personal articles (which are some of my favorite) to amazing short stories, to some really touching poetry. And if you get lucky, she includes her singing as a bonus.

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I also want to give a very special shout out to all the creators I have linked in my profile as favorites (please go to the end of the article or click on their names for their Vocal profiles and see all the amazing things they write about):

Babs Iverson, C.H. Richard, Emily Marie Concannon, Gina C., Joe Patterson, Keila Aartila, Kelli Sheckler-Amsden, Lonzo Ward, Paul Stewart, Rick Henry, and Tiffany Gordan.

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And another big shout out to these wonderful creators I've gotten to interact with more and more over the last few months (I've embedded a link to each creator's Vocal profile so you can easily check out their works. Just click on their name!):

Angel Whelan, Antoinetter L Brey, Brin J., Caroline Jane, Colleen Millsteed, Dana Stewart, Daniel Jeyaraman, Dean F. Hardy, Holly Pheni, J. Delaney-Howe, Jason Basaraba, Jordan Twiss, Judey Kalchik, Lamar Wiggins, Linda Rivenbark, Lisa A Lachapelle, Mariann Carroll, Melissa Ingoldsby, Misty Rae, Moe Radosevich, Morgana Miller, Oneg in The Artic, Stephanie J. Bradberry, Poppy the Poet, Russell Ormsby, Scott Wade, Sleepy drafts (Em), The Dani Writer

You all have a special place in my heart for impacting my writing journey and for always extending kindness and encouragement.

I would in all honesty probably have given up on the Vocal platform if it wasn't for all of these amazing people.

I am sorry for any that I've missed. If your name is not on this list, you are no less a wonderful creator or great person and I hope to get to know you better soon!

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I'm finishing with this song by Andrew Gold (thank you Rick Henry for sharing it recently).