Gift delivery, winner of Ooligan book

Melanie joined me bright and early at Starbucks. She carefully timed the meeting to coincide precisely prior to my daughter's saxophone lesson. You know, The First Carol would be on deadline and would not be able to go on-and-on, per usual.

Melanie is worthy of a Monday post, "Celebrities who've met ME!" She is a finalist in a literary contest which drew entries from around the globe. More on that later. First, my agenda: book delivery.

"Take it!" said The First Carol.

"No, I told you I didn't want it. Keep it," replied Melanie.

"No, you dork, take the coffee."

"I paid for my coffee, I paid for YOUR coffee. Keep your re-write. I'm sick of reading your stuff."

"The book, Melanie, we're meeting so I can give you the book."

"Oh, oh, right. Okay, thank you."

"You're welcome. See you Thursday."

FULL DISCLOSURE: I made all that up, (except for the picture, that's real). Melanie is a very congenial woman, great writer and excellent critique group member. She is the one who identifies when we 'tell' instead of 'show.' In addition, there are passages in my manuscript which greatly improved through her concise counsel, subtle suggestions, and tough questions.

I could claim the results of her advice were all my ideas, because she quickly forgets her best input, but I'd never take credit for that. <-- quite possibly a lie, but we'll pretend it's true.

If you'd like to visit Melanie's blog, surf over to Melanie's Meanderings. I convinced her to start blogging. She keeps asking me why. I say, just do it, but I say it in a really nice voice.

Looking forward to meeting up with our other two winners!

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