Last summer I wrote a post on this blog about the death of my horse (it’s under The Writing Life:”My Horse, Robin”) and many of you responded with comments that really helped me. Including one from Bob Goldman DMV who said my post should be in an anthology of pieces about loving and losing an animal. I had felt that maybe the post was too sentimental, too personal – but your responses and Bob’s idea gave me confidence and also inspired me. Since I couldn’t find such an anthology I created one of my own. I wrote to all my writer friends that I admire and know are animal lovers, and then to writers I didn’t know but had read and loved what they’d written about their animals and asked them to contribute. I named the anthology CHERISHED: 20 Writers Celebrate Animals They’ve Loved and Lost – wrote a book proposal (including my introduction, a preface by Bob Goldman, a list of the writers who agreed to contribute with a brief description of what they would write, a marketing plan, the competition, and my own essay)  And today my wonderful agent called from New York: she sold the book to New World Library!  

The essays in it are all by published writers, most with books, some famous and some not famous yet but should be. Some essays are reprints and some are originals not completed yet. It’s a project of my heart. I’ll give you updates as the book proceeds. Rest assured, the Marketing Whore will be back when it’s published. And thank you dear readers for those comments last summer.