This morning, when I made my emergency run to the store for leeks, an extra roasting pan, and a Diet Dr Pepper the size of my head -- the necessities of life, and also, God bless 7-11 -- I got asked the obligatory Thanksgiving morning question by the nice man who bagged my groceries: "What are you thankful for this year?"

My answer was immediate, and didn't even require thought: "Everything."

This last year has been an amazing roller coaster of good, bad, and stunning. Last November, I was still struggling to figure out what was wrong with my favorite manuscript. I was talking with a potential agent. I was fighting to finish Newsflesh, a book that seemed destined never to be finished. I was, in short, in a holding pattern.

A year later, I have a wonderful agent who loves me. I have a place at a publishing house I've admired all my life, working with an editor I respect and trust to treat me fairly. I have a mind-blowingly good cover artist committed to do the covers of my first three books...and I can say that now, I can say 'my first three books' without my more sensible friends saying 'maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up.' I found what was wrong with Rosemary and Rue and fixed it, turning the book into something beyond my wildest dreams, and now I'm working on book five in the series; the first three are all turned in. Newsflesh is done. Lycanthropy and Other Personal Issues is done. I've sold two short stories and syndicated a column.

I am thankful for all these things. I am thankful for the daily reassurance and stability provided by my friends, the wonderful people that I've been lucky and privileged enough to have in my life. I am thankful for the health of my family, for the well-being of my loved ones, and for the fact that we're all still here. I am thankful for Lilly, even though I sometimes want to microwave her. And I am thankful to James Gunn for making a reality show about torturing wanna-be horror movie stars. He so needs to call me.

Finally, I'm truly thankful to everyone reading this journal. Sappy, yes, schmoopy, yes, but it's true. I'm starting on a big, strange, scary journey, and knowing that there are people interested in coming along makes it easier.

Thank you.