I am so grateful to have a wonderfully supportive network of family and friends. Today is Thanksgiving, and that can't go by without a huge thank you to let you know how much I appreciate your encouragement and support of my writing.      A few days ago, I posted on Facebook that Barnes and Noble decided to stock Bruce and the Murder in the Marsh for their local store shelves. All day long I received congratulatory messages, and it was humbling to see everyone’s excitement for me. Friends checked out my blog, liked my author page on Facebook, shared my post on their walls, and some of their friends liked and commented as well. it was amazing.

I've been able to achieve many dreams and goals over the course of my life, and one of the greatest was writing a novel. After celebrating that achievement, I realized what matters more is writing a book people want to read and a book they enjoy. The affirmation that B&N finds my books good enough to grace their shelves is humbling, but it was (and is) your comments and support along the way that helped me get where I am and let me know I've written something good, and I'm ever grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Recently I was at a pickleball tournament and I happened to look at the paddles available from one of the vendors. One paddle had a sticky tag that read, "Lefty." I laughed when I saw it, knowing that paddles aren't any different for right- or left-handers, and I said to the proprietor, "That's cute."

"It's for real," he said, and he proceeded to show me the grip on the "lefty" paddle.

If you look at the paddle in the first picture, you'll see a typical paddle grip. Notice the way the spiral grip matches the angle of my fingers when I hold it with my right hand.

Now look at the next picture, which is the same paddle in my left hand. (I moved my thumb out of the way to show the grip better.) The angle of my fingers and the angle of the wraps are opposite, and it's not nearly as comfortable.

I don't know if any other manufacturers are going to begin offering left-handed grips for their customers, but you can always customize your own paddle by removing the existing grip and replacing it with a new one that's wrapped in the opposite direction.