Okay, I'm going to include this one and Jayne will disqualify it if necessary, BUT I've read the ladies' stories twice this year, and I want to tell the story about this holiday anthology. I wish I could say I play an important role in it, but I don't, so that's why I feel good about including it in my ten, even if Jayne must disqualify me, BUT it will have a copyright of this year so here goes. 
I was invited to participate in an anthology and little did I know that it would pretty much change my writing life. First of all, getting to brainstorm with Anne and Marion was a humbling experience. We met in Dallas and right away it was clear to me that I was IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATER MINDS THAN MINE. These girls can plot! And they do not get tired of plotting. They do not get headaches. They go this way, and then that way. We had diamonds, Christmas brides, Texas rangers, New England wildcats, Australian romance flying around the table. Meanwhile, I am keeping my mouth fairly shut as I scribble notes like mad, because when you realize you are IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS, it is best, I think, to sit there and git yer schoolin'. I made some mewling noises about how I was worried about keeping up, wasn't sure I could make the grade, and they looked upon me graciously, the two of them plus our wonderful editor. After awhile, I could catch my breath and relax and focus a little more. It threw me that all the storylines would be entwined, and yet this was a great thing for me because I'd never done this before. I do love a challenge.
Weeks went by and suddenly it was time to turn in synopses. Then chapters. Then the books. I get everybody's rough draft and dutifully print it and punch holes and put it in a ring binder, sitting down to read because I can hardly wait to see what came out of the brainstorming. Anne is first. I get put in the middle because I am the weak link, not the sweet cream center, as you might think the center might be. 
I can say this in all honesty because it is true, and I am not ashamed of this at all. Marion has written 75 wondeful books or more, Anne is a genius, and I am the baby. Marion ran anchor to finish out the anthology.
Right away, I realize Anne's story is fabulous. You will think oh, boo-hiss, she is saying that because Anne's paying her or Tina's brown-nosing or something, but the fact is, her story is fun, and more fun, and then fun again. We get an email from her worrying about maybe this, or maybe that, but no, no, it's perfect, in my opinion, and durn it, I wish I'd written it! 
Then there's mine, which is a contrast to Anne's and I can't really comment on that except to say I hope I kept up slightly but I've never been good at evaluating my work and won't start now (writers tend to think their work is never good enough), and so then I began Marion's. Ahhhh, the Outback of Australia. Excellent writing, good family story, wallabees . . . made me want to holiday Down Under.
I called my friend, whom I retain as my reader so I don't send a bunch of garbage in to my editor, and I said, "You simply have to read this. It is going to make you smile. Anne is awesome, and Marion is great--the two of them are too good."
So I took it over to my friend, and she read it, and I think she called me that night, and she said, "I loved it!"
And I said, "I know. I told you Anne's was this cheery yet suspenseful delight."
She said, "But I liked yours, too," and I brushed her off, because she's my friend, and after all, I know she's going to say this, and so we went on to Marion's, and she loved that one, too. I have to say that as learning experiences go, this was among the most pleasant. Absolutely the most fun project I ever got to be involved in, and I've been privileged to work with some nice people.
But sometimes you get lucky enough to stare into a chest of gold, and you see all the glimmering pieces, and you wish desperately that you could have just a little of it--but I knew I couldn't, and I just felt so fortunate that I'd gotten to touch the shimmers, if only for a moment.
