Sometimes it is hard to have a parallel struggle with someone else and watch them shoot past you when you used to be, I don’t know, peers. But even if I wish my success had been similar to someone I was on even ground with once upon a time, I can’t seem to spin it into proper jealousy. I’m glad they did so well and they deserved to. (A lot of people deserve to who never will be at the right place at the right time for it to happen, and that’s very frustrating, but all they–and we–can do is persevere.) I love seeing ridiculously good things happen to people I know, so close to home, and knowing that’s out there–that’s real–it’s not a one-in-a-million occurrence or a thing that only happens on TV. Whether it does or could ever happen for me isn’t really related to how I feel about them. (Though I’ll be honest, it did sting a little when I saw the deal announcement from the very editor who had stalled for so long on answering my agent on MY trilogy. She ultimately rejected it. However, that does not mean it in any way turned into resentment for my author friend or toward that editor.) And though I haven’t become a household name for my writing (yet??), I do think it’s pretty special that I’ve been able to do some things tons of authors dream of doing–getting signed to an agent (I’ve done it successfully twice!), getting a book deal, winning some awards, and selling short fiction and other short pieces to paying markets. I’d love to go bigger and better, but I’m pretty happy with how well I’ve done too!