Since my latest story, The Last Resort, is about summer, sisterhood and sacred answers, I figured I’d take a moment to discuss how sisterhood can enhance creativity, mojo and zen. (It’s THAT powerful.) It also happens to be the theme of my YA mythology series, The Goddess Sisters, coming out this fall, so it’s obviously a BDD to me. (Big Damn Deal.)

Why? How?

1. Sisterhood means you’re never alone. This is critical if you’re in a bad patch, would like to make memories that don’t involve you alone in a room with your technology of choice (no judging!) or just want to feel the energy (mana) of another human being who thinks you’re not a jackass and might split the last beer with you. I continue to cherish the relationships I built as an Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Oklahoma – they were there for me now and I love keeping connected to the sisterhood old and new today. Sisterhood is truly ageless.

2. Sisterhood means you have a sounding board. I loved being in business with Cynthia Dutton because we were yin and yang. We discussed. We bantered. We made things better. The same goes for the small stuff like “does this make my butt look big,” My daughter is also my “sister.” And she ALWAYS tells me if an outfit looks ridiculous on me. My natural born sisters have no problem telling me what I need to hear, and usually it’s after I’ve asked. And there is always a sister who has been through what you’re going through and can help you with your journey. Just this week, Kari Edelman Ernest, an AXO sis, helped me with something she’d gone through, and I’m eternally grateful.

3. Sisterhood means you get a second chance. We’re forgiving people. We give birth. We nurse others back to health. We feed our family, we feed the world. And even when we have the smallest drop of mojo left for ourselves, we unselfishly give it to someone else to replenish them. We know our spark grows brighter when we pass it on. If at first you fail, your sister are there to help lift you up, wipe the red dirt off your ass and tell you to try again.

4. Sisterhood means presence. It’s easier to stay in the present moment when you’re in the presence of sisters. We talk. We laugh. We paint ugly painting and discuss books and shop til we drop. We’re present and that’s the key to happiness.

5. Sisterhood means perspective. The more we open ourselves up to the global sisterhood, the more empathetic we become and the more we can align ourselves to our truest purpose. Sisters die. Sisters suffer. We listen. We aid. We adjust our thinking because there is always someone, somewhere that is worse off than we are. We grow.

And we go on.

Today I welcomed a new sister, Lucie Smoker, a mystery writer form Enid, OK, to the Hive at Buzz Books, as our debut author for our Swarm suspense imprint. I hope you’ll welcome her, too.