Where the Conversation is Now: Partnership

I’m a fan of author Jayne Ann Krentz – especially her work under the pseudonym Jayne Castle – and I’ve often envied her friendship with other writers. I’ve wondered how they met and if what they have is something I could achieve.

Writing is generally a solitary endeavor. It doesn’t feel lonely, as I’m spending quality time with fascinating characters when I write, but on returning to the real world it’s great to have a friend who gets it. It’s also rare, at least in my experience. So I’m frequently amazed that I lucked into a writing collaborator and friend in Silbrith.


As I try to pinpoint when Silbrith and I started the transition from being simply co-editors to being writing partners, I think back to a point in the story Caffrey Flashback where I wanted more than just her thoughts about a single chapter in isolation. I needed feedback about how the chapter worked with regard to my overall vision for the story. For the first time, I had to trust someone with the entire plot of a story that was still a work in progress. I took that leap and never regretted it.

Another milestone was when I introduced the canon character Sara Ellis into the AU. That’s the first time I remember Silbrith convincing me to make major rewrites. It was probably painful for both us – two fundamentally nice people who hate causing anyone stress trying to work through conflict as politely as possible – and yet we learned the value of giving and accepting unpleasant feedback.

I’ve gained so much from this partnership. It’s not just the prolific nature of the writing – over 900,000 words in the Caffrey Conversation AU – although I’m certainly proud of that. It’s not just the way we’ve kept timelines straight while both writing in the same AU, although that taught me a lot about organizing plots and characters.

Silbrith coaxes me to try things I might not have gotten around to otherwise, such as Pinterest and blogging. She understands the challenges I face when characters are recalcitrant or plots become hopelessly tangled. She provides encouragement and advice, with a healthy dose of humor and imagination.

Having a writing partner has given me a sounding board, a sanity checker, and a friend. Oh, and we invented a game: bunnyball. It involves tossing plot bunnies back and forth, gaining new insights and ideas and bringing lots of laughter.

So, am I still envious of Jayne Ann Krentz? Sure. I’d love to have her talent and be a best selling author. But I’m happy to have acquired a writing friend of my own. My writing is not only improved, but the writing process itself is more fun due to our partnership.

Coming up in my next post: what it's like to collaborate on a series