Wishing you a happy harvest!!!

As I decorated the house for fall the other day, I was thinking that not that long ago, fall was the happiest time of the year for most people. A few decades ago, it meant bringing in the harvest. As a kid, I remember the whole family getting together several times in the fall, with friends and neighbors, to bring in the harvest. My grandparents grew wheat and corn, and every man in my family pretty much had his own vineyard. (Now only one uncle does.)The end of the growing season was a big deal! We handled it all as a group, with a few hired hands for extra muscle. (The farms were very small. More like farmettes by today's standards.)

Everyone worked like dogs, and the older women cooked up a storm for the huge meal at the end of the day. As much work as bringing in the harvest was, it was also almost like a holiday. There was laughter and joking and, let me tell you, plenty of wine! Being together like that several times a year, gave you a sense of security. People gathered around because you needed help. And you knew you'd go to their farm next. You were reminded several times a year that you had a support system that would not let you fall.

The end of growing season was also a sigh of relief. It meant you could stop worrying about the weather and the powdery mildew and all the other diseases that could threaten your crops. You did your work, God blessed it and now you could rest--both physically and mentally.

I do think of that sometimes as I finish one project just in time for deadline and start another one, in a never-ending loop. Somehow the season of rest has gone missing from our schedules. But I do still have the joy of the work. I LOVE my job. Writing is all I've ever wanted to do and I fell blessed beyond measure that I get to do it for a living. And it's made possible by you. Thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how grateful I am for that, and for your kind words when you email me or post on my Facebook page.

Another thing I'm extremely grateful for is the community of helping hands around me. This is something pretty amazing and, I think, exceptional. There are many occupations where office staff rotates in and out, where people compete for promotions and will step on their coworkers to get to the next level. I honestly have never seen the level of selfless support in any other job that I see in my romance authors groups. We Intrigue authors talk to each other every single day on an email loop. If I have a questions, it's answered the same day. If I need to promote a new book, people will tweet about it. Never mind that my books compete with their books. Julie Miller puts together an amazing newsletter for all of us, has done it for years, essentially promoting her competitors. Others manage this blog, and yet more people make sure everything looks good on our Intrigue Facebook page. We are united in our mutual fondness and respect for each other, and our desire to bring you the best stories we are capable of.

So today, as I write this, I'm wishing you a bumper crop of harvest in whatever job it is that you do, and a community of helping hands around you.

Dana