Warning - I'm going to break some of the rules Hasini laid down. But I have far too many people to thank and I'm grateful for a public forum to do it in.
Sara (tvnerdgirl) - The only person willing to take a chance on an unknown writer and beta for me. I would not have finished that first story without her encouragement and support. Sara got caught up with school and moved on, but I still think about her all the time and hope that someday she'll come back. I miss her and her sense of humor.
DJ (MetroRhodes) - My beta, my muse, my publicist, my therapist, my conscience, my swift kick in the backside, my biggest fan - I simply don't function without her. I would be *nothing* without her. I know it. I acknowledge it freely.
Jackiek - The first person to leave me feedback. You never forget your first.
Ann (TOC) - The first person to make me think more than twice about what I was writing. When I realized my words were being analyzed, I became a lot more picky. I polish and tweak my stories far more than I would have without Ann and her amazing and extremely thorough reviews.
LaraMoon - Beta extraordinaire. The only FoLC I've met in person and definitely my favorite traveling companion. I thank you for the laughs and for never saying out loud, "Are you insane?" Especially since she knows for a fact that, yes, I am insane.
Hasini - For the hug, which touched me deeply. For the idea that led to Faustian. But most of all for keeping me grounded in a year that really should have gone to my head. There's nothing like a reality check from Hasini.
alcyone - Brilliant beta. An even more brilliant writer. She has inspired me in countless ways but especially to get in touch with my dark side.
People who leave FDK: Be it one line or a dissertation, I want to hug everyone who has ever left me FDK. Especially the gang from the summer of '06 who turned the FDK threads for Faustian Bargain on the Nfic boards into such a party. I can't express to you how amazing that was for me. I hate to list names, because I'm terrified that I'm going to leave someone out, but here are the people who come readily to mind (leaving out those I've already hugged above):
Lisa (Mrs. Mosely), Sheila, woody, Jojo, Jen (Shadow), Arawn, Andreia, poussin, SJH, sarahk, Linda (doublel), lovesuper97, SuperRoo, laurach, Maria, groobie, mmprincess, tahu, LolaDane, Nancy (Classicalla), Amy21, MissQ, Lar, ethnica, Vicki and ChaBreh. Oh, please, please, please don't hate me if I didn't mention your name! I know I'm leaving people out and it's killing me! That was such a crazy, wonderful, absolutely magical time for me and it was entirely because of every single person who joined the party. I can never begin to thank you enough.
I know there's a cap on hugging people more than four times, but I have to say thank you to all our
admins for creating and maintaining these boards. They've put a staggering amount of work into this venture and I hope that they find it even half as rewarding as the rest of us.
I had to comment on this:
I would like to give a hug to all the people like me, who post stories or visit the other forums, but aren't well-known and may feel like they're on the outside looking in a lot of the time. It's not easy breaking into or getting to know people in a group as established as this one.
No, it's NOT easy breaking in to *any* established group. Just keep writing! I didn't find this site until 2006 and I was a complete unknown. I couldn't even get someone to beta for me. I was absolutely positive that it would be impossible to break into a fandom as established as this one. My first story got only a handful of feedback. It did feel like being on the outside looking in. But I kept at it, worked very hard at writing, and got lucky. It's been my experience that the people here are very supportive and friendly and willing to reward hard work.
Hugs to everyone!
