Guest Blogger!

December 22, 2008 | My Jottings

I appreciate and sometimes marvel at good writing. Maybe it’s why I read so much. “How did they ever think of saying it like that?” I’ll muse when I read well-crafted books or articles. One of my dearest friends can write about any topic and make it interesting, funny, and/or deeply moving. I’ve asked her to be my first “Guest Blogger” at Just Julie and she readily agreed!

I have known and loved Diane Aro for many years – you can read a little bit about her here. She has written many poems and articles that have been published, and has finished her first novel. I keep telling her not to forget me when she makes it big, because I believe she’ll be famous for her writing someday. She also loves to travel, and on her last trip to Finland she kept a journal which included her own drawings and observations. She sent me a copy and I enjoyed it better than many books I’ve read. Before the days of e-mail she and I used to exchange letters (consisting of words written with ballpoint ink on folded pieces of paper, contained in paper envelopes and affixed with postal stamps – remember those?), and receiving one from Diane was like getting a small treasure in my mailbox; over thirty years later I still have most of what she’s written to me kept in a special file.

I recently asked Diane to write about anything she wanted for the blog here, and we’re in for a treat! She wrote about her most recent trip to Alaska, and her first experience on a zip-line there. Her words made me laugh and gasp and picture perfectly what it must have been like to go on such a zippy adventure.

So be watching! In a day or two you’ll be able to read what Diane graciously wrote for my little blog, and when you see her name on the cover of a book someday, you’ll be able to say, “I knew her when she was a guest blogger for JustJulieB.com!”