Oh yes, it’s coming back, The Annual Blogger’s Bash will be held this June 10th in London, England! Are you going? Although I live ‘across the pond’ a fair distance away from here in Toronto, you bet your sweet bippy I’m doing everything in my power to get there!

I must get there! Why? I’m overdue to expand my horizons and step out of my writerly perimeters and go where many of my friends reside behind my computer screen, the friends who often keep me sane.

Writers need hugs too! Blogging friends are the ones who can identify with a writer’s struggles, the friends we can turn to when we need a dose of inspiration, or a smiley face and a heart to remind us they get what we do, what we go through as writers. These are the friends we can bounce ideas off of, rant to about our work, and WordPress and computer woes. And these are the friends who cheer us on for our accomplishments, pick us up when we’re in self-doubt mode, and share our work.

That said, how long do we have to know someone before we could burst from wanting to share a real cup of coffee (or wine?) with our friends, the ones we spend most of our writing days communicating with?

Well, this blogger wants more than just virtual hugs! It’s no different when geographically-crossed lovers build a relationship online and reach that point where they have to meet in person because virtual is no longer enough. There’s just too much to say that our fingers couldn’t possibly type as fast as our mouths can gab when we crave the real-time human interaction. This is why I’m going to meet my long-time close friends for the first time, and make new friends with others I’m not already acquainted with.

It’s time to hug my virtual pals and bring their characters to real life! I’m especially excited to meet my good friends, like my great galpal Sally Cronin  

Hoping my dear friend Tina Frisco with the beautiful soul can make it

My sweet as Sherri pie friend Sherri Mathews