My empathetic husband, Kraig, is one of the few people in my world that sees daily the joys and struggles I have as a writer. To support me and all the other writers out there, he wrote the following blog post:

When I talk to friends, relatives, and co-workers, quite often the discussion turns to my wife and her novels. Many say, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” I reply, “It’s a lot of work and takes up a lot of your time.” However, I’m not sure it completely describes what I see every day.

Creating stories and characters is an amazing process. In 2005, I suffered a job loss with a company I was with for 22 years. I was depressed. Christina encouraged me to look for new opportunities, one of which was writing. I, too, thought I could do it. Cheering me on, she wrote down her ideas, while I jotted down mine. She embraced the challenge. I, on the other hand, wasn’t as into it as much as she was. With desire and determination, she continued writing. I realized how passionate she was when I suggested killing off one of her characters as a story twist. Dumb idea … I made her cry.

After making improvements with her story line and her writing skills, she finally sent queries to agents and publishers. Then, one night she woke me from a deep sleep. She received an offer from Juanita Samborski, the publisher at 48fourteen. What an exciting time! Her hard work was paying off. Her next step was learning about book promotion. Putting herself out there by writing, tweeting, facebooking, blogging, and book signing takes a courage I don’t possess. She pushes herself every day, so she can be the best she can be while I prefer my safe, quiet, and comfortable haven.

I, now, have a new reply for all those who want to write a novel. “Passion and courage are the #1 and #2 Must-Haves when writing.”

I’ve also learned that sometimes you don’t realize how hard conveying a sentiment is until you try to write it …

Written by Kraig Thompson, husband of an author, which makes me Awesome by Association

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