by author Beth Hoffman

I think girlfriends are the diamonds of life—most of us won’t have all that many, but the ones we do should be cherished.

When I left my career in interior design and set out to write a novel, it never occurred to me that I was stretching my hand toward one of the most elusive goals a person can set. Oh, no, I didn’t give that a moments thought. Then, one night, two years into the creation of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, a lightning strike of terror hit me: was I nuts, was I working this hard only to join the majority of writers who drown in the obscurity of the dreaded slush pile?

Panicked, I called my best friend, Marlane, (who happens to live across the street). Within minutes she arrived at my door, a glass of wine in her hand, still in her gardening clothes. She said nothing; just wrapped me in her arms. And I remember the scent of damp earth that clung to her shirt as I leaned into her shoulder.

She listened while I exposed my stunning naiveté and self-doubt, and then she calmly boosted me up with thoughtful words of wisdom and the kind of love only girlfriends understand. We talked until the moon rolled over the treetops, and while I stood on my front porch and watched her head for home, I felt a sense of gratitude that remains to this day.

Harry Winston and Cartier? They just ain’t shucks to a true girlfriend.

www.bethhoffman.net

Pre-order Saving CeeCee today. (debuts Jan., 2010)

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