This month – after her research trip to the UK – Susan is completing the first draft of her work-in-progress Brandie Sagadore.

“One day I’m going to write a book.”

I hear that a lot when I tell people that I write fiction. Some writers might be offended by it. I’m not.

The desire to write a book is a common ambition. So, let’s begin with the assumption that you have a great idea for a book. It may feel as though the idea arrived magically and mystically, fully formed and so real you can read it. Pragmatically speaking, however, you are delusional.

First of all, you have to write the manuscript. I recently heard the story of a woman who has attended the same writers’ conference every year for nearly a decade. She takes notes, attends seminars and talks about the manuscript she plans to write…but still hasn’t.

Writing happens when pen hits paper and fingers hit keyboard. The magic comes when you write and rewrite – and share your work. Writers of creative fiction generally share their work with other writers. It’s a difficult but necessary part of the process to learn to accept criticism with gratitude and a zipped lip.

It’s much like parading the streets, naked.

Sure, when you share your work with others you might feel exposed. It can be humiliating, embarrassing and soul-wrenching. So what? If you can’t share your manuscript with a few other writers, how’s it going to go with a whole bunch of readers?

If you plan to write a book, good for you. All you need is the understanding that writers write. They don’t talk about writing a book one day. They’re writing it now. Writing is an action. So, simply begin and if your intention is sincere, one day you will write a book.

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Six months ago I was invited to my friend’s surprise fiftieth birthday party. One month later it became clear that her husband was seriously ill.

The same women who organized the party quickly organized an online calendar for what we call the Team John support group. In situations like this I often say, “Women rock” but that’s just shtick. A couple of John’s golfing buddies are part of the team. So, men rock, too.

I am in awe of the group that instantly rallied around this family to take care of John and to raise funds with an online auction so our friend could take care of her husband full-time. Situations like this show human beings at their best.

People rock.

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Did I mention that I love Brandie Sagadore? I first created Brandie – a young hair stylist in search of family – in 1997.

My first-hand research naturally includes plenty of visits to hair salons and discussions with hair stylists. I’ve also taken a walk down my personal haircut memory lane. The worst haircut of my life, for example, was reminiscent of Marie Slaughter, Murray Slaughter’s wife on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Hideous. Worse, I was only seventeen years old and not ready to be a middle-aged TV housewife.

The best hair cut of my life was a bit of a gamble. I walked into a random hair salon in Glasgow in 1992 and walked out looking so glamorous I felt like a celebrity. The pictures taken afterward show me at my most confident – and that’s what makes a haircut great.

Just before my most recent trip to the UK, however, I wasn’t taking any chances. I visited the delightful, chatty, quirky and passionate Jessica at Serenity Hair Lounge in North Vancouver. Not only did I get a marvelous cut and colour, I got pages and pages of notes.

I adore it when my civilian life and my writing life intersect.