I’ve been getting emails about Patry Francis, author of The Liar’s Diary, regarding the release of her extraordinary novel and how illness will keep her from promoting it. I don’t know Patry and I haven’t yet had the opportunity to read her book, but I felt compelled, after reading her blog, to say a few words. (Okay, more than a few. You know me, I do go on.)

The publishing business, though steeped in romance, is as competitive and harsh as any other. It’s very difficult to get a novel published, and once you have, it’s even more difficult to succeed. What differentiates the publishing business from say, the toothpaste business, is love. It’s not just about selling more toothpaste. (Not that there aren’t people out there who feel very passionately about toothpaste.) Most of us -- writers and editors, publishers, and agents -- are doing what we love, making our living with a passion, zeal, and drive. Most of us would be doing it for nothing.

That’s why when some of my fellow writers learned about Patry’s situation, they decided to blog about it, to help her support the book, the dream, that she wouldn’t be well enough to promote. Because it’s not just about writing and loving our own novels, it’s about loving the great work of our contemporaries and supporting each other in what otherwise is a very solitary profession. It’s about being readers and fans of each other.

I haven’t met Patry but I know what it takes to write a novel, to get it out there in the world. I know what a thrill it was to be signed on by an agent, accepted by a top publisher and to know that a dream was about to come true. I don’t, however, know what it is like then to be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, or to be subjected to a treatment that, for a time, is debilitating. But I can imagine that she must have felt like she visited both ends of the spectrum of what this crazy life has to offer – the big thrills, the terrible blows – was a bit dizzy from the ride. She has been generous enough to blog about it. It’s a gift to travel with her, to hear her thoughts and insights, to share and understand her journey even in a small way. I hope you’ll visit her at www.patryfrancis.com and (here’s me NOT being subtle) buy a copy of her book for yourself, for someone you know who loves thrillers, or just because you want to remind a talented writer that it’s not just authors who want to support each other and make the business feel a little bit more like a family and a community; as the biggest, and arguably the most important element of the business, readers want that, too.

Cheers, Patsy! Wishing you health, bliss and every success ahead!