And…

All words tend to have their own personalities – as you’ll find out when the Bookmaker finally shows up in the world in the next few months. Some of them are hard to get to know, they can be a bit snobby or shy depending on how you look at them. Others are mischievous and like to play tricks on any unsuspecting writer. But I thought I’d write a little note about And.

We’ve been chatting, And and I (And likes to chat). We’ve been discussing whether I should feature And in my second book as a character or not. And is a small word when it comes to the amount of letters in its name, but it has a really big heart. We’ve always been acquainted with each other – as a young writer I always asked And for help, and And always came tumbling right into the middle of my school essays and especially my made up stories. I don’t think And minded though, And likes to help teach and that little word sure loves hanging out with kids. But And tends to be one of those words I plop into sentences without really noticing, and it took a little scare for me to find out how much I liked who And is.

It started out with a conversation with my best friend. I was worried about the possibility of death. This tends to happen often to dramatic souls such as myself, though I like to think now that I’m older I’m not quite so prone to hysterics. In truth, when I am being logical, I can admit that I am a very healthy person, but growing up there was a lot of cancer in my extended family. A lot of deaths that made my parents sad. So every sickness, newfound freckle, or strange occurrence was a potential death threat in my imagination. During one such episode in which I was SURE I was probably, maybe, going to die, my best friend pointed out this little word. And…

“Just look at And.” He said. “That’s where you are.”

And is a simple soul who likes order. And is also very good at organizing the other words so they get along with each other and make sense… and they don’t even notice who’s bringing them all together!

In that moment, though, when I was afraid, And took my hand in its little inky fingers, and showed me all the words that were still to come ahead of me. And is always hinting about its friends, More and Possibilities. If you’re ever scared of the endings, And is the word you want to look for. And will tell you every time that there’s more to come – even if you can’t see it.