I met a woman yesterday who said she loved my blog and my books, but really wanted to meet Maria. She said she watched the photos of Maria with the donkeys and Rocky, and she imagined her to be a sweet and gentle person. This is so. Maria is the sweetest and gentlest person I have ever known, that that does not mean she is not tough. She is very tough. She has a spine of steel. She has overcome a lot of difficult things to be who she is, get where she is, do what she loves. I love the gentleness in Maria, and I love the Sicilian part, too. I generally do what I am told.

Some years ago, I decided the best path for me was to surround myself with strong and smart women and do what they tell me. I did not imagine how prescient this feeling was. Everyone I work for now is a woman – agent, editors, teachers. They are all strong and smart, and I generally do what I am told. It is working out. It may be the secret of life. I believe men have messed up their chance to run the world – wars, Washington, crime, pollution, greed. Time for a different way.  Maria has begun a series of notecards giveaways on her site. The first notecard giveaway was this morning. The next is Thursday.