Week 22: Best Gift I Ever Gave
Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop is upon us again. #MFRWauthor “Why is time flying by so fast?” I ask rhetorically.
I planned on skipping the topic this week because I didn’t have time to dig deep to come up with the best gift I ever gave. Plain and simple? I didn’t want to take the time, plus many things took me away from thinking about this topic.
However, this morning an idea came to me. I won’t call this the best gift I ever gave, but this gift had been appreciated. This gift gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Ah, F#%k:
Well, my best friend wouldn’t read my books because she didn’t want to read curse words or sensual love scenes. Again, I’ll remind you that my scenes aren’t erotic. I don’t consider the curse words all that harsh though many do, but I tell ya, when my cowboy gets bucked off a bull, he isn’t going to say, “Ah, shucks, that hurt.” I can read lips, and I’ve heard announcers mention fines for athletes’ language on screen, so IMO, my guys saying, “Ah, f&*%,” is justified, even if only in my head.
A little backstory:
I know, I know…backstory…
Margaret constantly hounded me about changing how I write my books—she wanted to read them. What a gift it would’ve been to me if she had read them. She even sent me a message via her husband. Shortly before she passed away, she told him to tell me, “Christian books are hot on the market now.” He told me this at her memorial.
This added to my guilt trip and made me feel bad. Not that I have anything against the market, but it isn’t mine. I don’t read it, I couldn’t write it. Yes, I know, and have read the Bible, but financially, I can’t stop writing long enough to learn how to write in the genre.
Back on topic: The Gift
I wanted her to read my series starter because I knew she’d love the story. She, of all people, knew what had inspired the book. We had talked about the story and characters while I wrote it, making her want to read it even more.
My gift to her was in the form of a cleaned up edition for her eyes only. I no longer have that copy saved.
Yep. I removed all the scenes she wouldn’t read and gifted her a copy. Her joy gave me joy, hence, the warm fuzzy. She would’ve liked if I had revised all my books for her, but I chose not to.
This is the book but not the version I changed for her. This is from the recently republished, newly revised edition. (I saw an opportunity to stick in a little tease. Sorry.)
This turned out to be longer than I’d anticipated, so let’s end this here. This is a blog challenge and Blog Hop, so remember to check out the other posts this week. Thanks for reading.
Happy June 1st!
Image Credit: Pixabay-YUKIHIDE
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
14 thoughts on “#AmWriting Warm Fuzzy Gifts #MFRWauthor”
Cathy Brockman
What a sweet special gift! You rock!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Aw, thank you, Cathy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
cwolffe
What a lovely thing to do for your friend. She must have been special. I am sorry for your loss, Mary. But I know she’s sharing the word of your works even in heaven. Precious!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thanks, Catherine. You know, I bet she is, but I wonder what the heck she will be saying after her last message to me. She was special. We’d been friends since I was eighteen.
LikeLike
Raine Balkera
That was very sweet! Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thank you, Raine.
LikeLike
maureenbonatch
What a wonderful gift! When I’m writing, I often remember that my girls like to read my books (they are 16) and sometimes I do a little more editing…lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I understand that, Maureen. My stories were different when I worked at school for the same reason. I have boys so I know they’d never read any of my books. 🙂
LikeLike
storimom2
LOL….I decided to do the same thing for my mom; I cleaned up all my books, just for her, with the exception of one book that I retitled, and am only selling it at local events.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
That’s sweet, Sherry. I would’ve done it for my mom, too, but she never lived long enough to see my books published. I had finished my very first manuscript, though. When she and my dad were alive, I kept thinking while writing, “What would my dad think?” Plus, I worked at school so the door was only open a crack in those first two manuscripts. Haha. (My friend did read both of those.)
LikeLike
Jacquie Biggar
I think it’s great you took the time to present your friend with this gift. I’m sure she’ll treasure it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Hi, Jacquie. Thanks. I know she did, and as predicted, she did love the story. It was worth it. Thanks for visiting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Helen Henderson
sometimes the best gifts are personal and private. thanks for sharing the story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thanks for reading, Helen. I had a warm fuzzy feeling while thinking of how happy she was when I sent it to her.
LikeLike