A few years ago I realized that there was something missing from my life … mentors. Specifically, I needed writerly mentors. Somehow, through that kind of chance that’s never really random, over the last few years I’ve found not one, not two, not three, but FOUR amazing writerly types to turn to when I have angstful creative questions. These people have held my hands through chapter angst, inspired me with their skills, and made me feel like I wasn’t nearly as stupid as I really am. And so, I salute them!

Michelle Goodman
Author of the Anti-9-to-5 Guide, Michelle and I have commiserated non-stop for the last year, ever since she found me online and realized that we were writing similar books on a similar schedule for the same publisher. That’s where the similarities end, however: Michelle’s spent ten years as a freelance journalist, and has a wealth of impressive clips under her belt that back-up her amazing investigative chops. I’m just a blogger, by comparison.

Ellen Forney
Author/artist of I Love Led Zepplin and several other books, two-time Eisner Award nominee, she knows how to promote herself and her projects in ways that put me and my amateur whoring to shame. She’s collaborated with some amazing folks (Sherman Alexie, Dan Savage, etc.) and even does wedding invites — so she gets the whole demented wedding industry thing.

Heather Corinna
Author of S.E.X.: Spelling Out All You Need to Know About Your Sexuality and longtime feminist activist, sex educator, and writer extraordinaire, Heather most definitely does NOT getting the whole wedding thing … but despite her loathing of Offbeat Bride’s topic, she contributed a key anecdote and has supported me through many whines and grumblings.

Patrick Enright
Patrick knows my writing pretty much better than anyone, and that includes my editor, my agent, my boss, and my dad. Patrick was first forced (ie paid) to deal with my words when we worked together at movies.com (he was the copy chief). But then he came back for unpaid punishment when he gave my book a supposedly-copy editing pass that ended up being the most thorough scouring the book ever received. If you look in the back of Offbeat Bride, it credits Patrick for talking me down off Mt. Freakout. Many, many times.

So to these four (and anyone else who’s listened to me yammer, whine, freak out, gnash my teeth, pull out my hair etc etc), thank you from the bottom of my verbavoric heart.