gerisullivan | Sometimes, you pay it forward...

...sometimes, it comes right back at you, magnified in all good ways.

Friday was a "right back at you" day, for something I'd long forgotten doing.

I forget what convention it was, or even how many years have passed since. Wherever, whenever it was, Diana Glyer admired the streaks of vibrant blue in my hair. Maybe I just had the blue streaks that time around, maybe I was wearing a mix of purple and blue, and perhaps also green. They were extensions, made from real hair, and easily clipped or sewn in for a splash of color. I told Diana where I'd picked them up (a neighborhood beauty supply store). She faunched after the blue; it was her fave.

I also forget whether I told her I'd send some of the extra blue hair I had at home, or whether the arrival of that envelope was a post-con surprise for her. Over the years, I've been on both the giving and receiving end of these sorts of surprise gifts times beyond counting. I'm reminded of the time Pat Virzi sent me a replacement inflatable stegosaurus after reading my tale of sending mine off to live in Brazil with Henrique Flory at the end of MagiCon, the 1992 Worldcon. And of the frog purse

dragonet2 sent just last year. Surprise boxes from David Russell, in Australia, and

don_fitch, who is on this continent but still far too far away. And the PEZboy MP3 player...I still don't know who sent that my way! As is true of most of my fannish experiences, it seems that I've received far more than I've given, aware as I am that I've given rather a lot over these past 25 years and then some.

Today's mail brought the following note from Diana:

"Once upon a time I told you how much I admired your "Blue Hair," and you were good enough to send me several swatches of it in the mail. It may sound funny, but that magic hair came at a really tough time in my writing process and saw me through several months when I wasn't sure if my book would ever be finished.

"Well, the book got done, and it is coming out next month. I just wanted to let you know how very much I appreciate your encouragement AND how much I admire your writing."

And there, in the envelope along with Diana's note, is a promotional card announcing the imminent publication of "The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community" and copies of a few introductory pages from the galleys, including the acknowledgments. And there's my name, among the many who helped Diana bring her book to fruition. They are thanked for the research assistance, the writing support, and the other considerable help one is used to seeing mentioned in this sort of book, Among them is

calimac, whose appendix is blurbed elsewhere as being "a treasure trove of biographical and bibliographical information on all nineteen of the Inklings", and

wild_patience, who is credited with cheerful silence as Diana and

calimac hashed things through.

Me, I'm thanked for the magic hair.

How cool. How unexpectedly, utterly cool.

The book is being published by The Kent State University Press, As the promotional postcard explains, "Diana Pavlac Glyer invites readers into the heart of the Inklings, examining diary entries, personal letters, and published and unpublished manuscripts. This groundbreaking book describes the lively interaction and strong mutual influence that characterized this writing group. It also paints a compelling picture of how writers and other creative artists challenge, correct, and encourage one another as they work together in community."

Sounds tasty!

Congratulations to Diana and to

calimac. I look forward to reading the book, and to learning from it.