Well, I'm going to start with Avonlea...
Anne of Green Gables, the quaint old town, the beautiful farms, the coastlines of Prince Edward Island, the sea breezes, the waving grasses, the Avenue (that Anne re-christened "The White Way of Delight" and Rachel and the general store and Matthew and Marilla and Gilbert Blythe and the school house and the ridgepole of the barn and the dinghy that sank while playing Camelot...
So many things to love about Prince Edward Island!
So that would be my number one pic because I could just feel the beauty of that place and the joy of a young girl finally finding her place... right there with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.
But not everyone lives on an island, right? So we need to be able to create the place with what the majority of us are given, the sweet town next door... or our very own hometown!
I use elements of my hometown here in Hilton, NY and the surrounding towns all the time. I steal elements I love from one town/village and merge them with elements of another to create either the welcoming feel or the threatening despair depending on what's going on in that town at that time.
My two current series feature very different small towns. "At Home in Wishing Bridge" (#1 on Amazon right now for Christian Women's Fiction, thank you, readers!) is set in the fictional northern New York town of "Wishing Bridge".
Picture forested hills, narrow country roads winding up and down, curving here and there... Farmers fields rimmed with hedgerows of trees... Small towns dotting the landscape, towns that were bypassed by the interstate... old buildings, struggling infrastructure in places, but a town filled with faith and hope from the very beginning of the story. Sure, they know they're struggling but they're struggling together, and that makes all the difference. And then a pregnant young woman flies off the road and is rescued by the returning hero, Hale Jackson... and so the story begins. A young mother's sacrifice thwarted by choosing the interstate exit to Wishing Bridge. Welcome to Wishing Bridge became an Amazon bestseller and is still ranked at #4 on the Christian Women's Fiction bestseller list, so that's mighty sweet news to me and the publishers!
Wishing Bridge is a Hallmark-styled town. Down on its luck, and with so many young people moving away but circumstances combine with God's timing to bring several of those young people back... the three friends from foster care... Hale Jackson, the to-die-for deputy sheriff who wrecked his knee being an NFL quarterback... His brother Ben and their cousin Garrett... And a cast of realistic hometown regulars. Maggie and Jeb, an elderly couple who lost a daughter to anorexia, Avis Washington, the town midwife and woman of wisdom, the town's first responders, Brian Teague and Lita Szabo, manning the town's ambulance, Shannon Carter, an earnest little girl being raised by a dementia-riddled great-grandmother...
And Max, an unsung town hero, a man who has made it his goal to restore the town's buildings one by one... a man trying to make up for past mistakes by making a difference now. It's never just about the brick-and-mortar of the town or neighborhood.
It's about the people inside those places, making things happen.
What should your town "say"? Is it:
Struggling
Thriving
Getting along
Busy with foot traffic
A pass-through, one-stoplight town
30 business town
50 business town
Does it have a school? Or is the central school two towns over?
A river? A creek? A pond? A lake? Water adds an element of peace and/or danger to a setting
Streetlights?
Empty storefronts?
Quaint businesses with curtains?
Amish businesses in town or along the way?
Farmstands?
Clubs/gatherings/senior centers/libraries/town hall?
When you look at a town you discover several things: The smaller the town, the fewer the services offered, so be careful how you present services.
Some tiny towns have tiny police forces (I used this set up in Running on Empty, my bestselling book that faces the "Me, too" movement years before it became okay to talk about sexual abuse)...
Some bigger towns use the county sheriff. Make sure you check the localities around your location to find out what they use... then mimic it.
How do you want your town to affect the reader? With joy? Empathy? Secrets? Antagonism? Your fictional town can help set the tone for your story, your characters, your storytelling abilities as you pick and choose how people react and how the town's appearance and attitudes affect your characters.
Above all, be true to your town. If it's set up one way, don't change it abruptly, any more than you would a character's reaction time... Let it evolve, just like the character's arc evolves. To the good or to the bad, your small town becomes a living, breathing thing in the pages of your story and only you can control what kind of breath it needs.
So are you a small town book reader? Or are you more of a thriller, big city afficionado? Or a cozy mystery reader, another kind of book often set in small towns?
Leave a comment to have your name put into the cat dish for chance to win a brand new and absolutely beautiful copy of "At Home in Wishing Bridge", the newest bestseller in the "Wishing Bridge" series!
After surviving the streets of South Philly, Thea Anastas never thought she’d wind up working in rural New York. But a call from a friend in need convinced the nurse practitioner to make the trip. Now her temporary position is making a difference in Wishing Bridge—though Thea can’t afford to make a difference, to fill a gaping hole in the sweet, small town. After all, the current medical practice is being dissolved in three months, and bigger opportunities are luring her away…
Her partner, Dr. Ethan Brandenburg, has his own struggles: caring for his orphaned niece and nephew and holding firm to his decision to leave Wishing Bridge for a prestigious job in Chicago. Though Thea’s no-nonsense advice in the office has been good for business, her compassion in Ethan’s personal life has been good for his heart. But how can he offer a commitment to a woman when they’re both about to say goodbye?
Wishing Bridge may be surrounded by forests and farms, but Thea is starting to realize that friendships and family form its heart—and that what she wants in life and love may be right in front of her eyes.
Award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne loves writing beautiful stories that help women grab strength and faith from the simple pages of a well-written story... so she's living her dream and doing something she loves: Helping others be the best they can be. Email her at loganherne@gmail.com and you can visit her website ruthloganherne.com and please friend her on Facebook (Ruth Logan Herne)... she loves to chat with folks there.
Good Morning Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteI am more of a small town girl. Most of my books take place in the mountains of NC. In one of them I named the town Punkin Town. There is a side of the mountain near me that is name Pumpkin Town but all the locals pronounce it punkin. It is not a true town in the normal sense but I felt it would make a great name for a Smoky Mountain setting where there will be coon hunting, stills, bears etc. It is a contemporary romantic suspense.
Michael is on its way which means my body is already warning me of its arrival. Vertigo is building so I will have to push through to get anything done today and tomorrow. The Lord is good and I will weather this storm.
Please put my name in the cat dish.
So sorry, Wilani, that the air pressure is already affecting your balance. Having gone through a too-long period of extreme vertigo years ago, I know how that feels and am always amazed at how you keep going even when the world is whirling around you. Praying you'll get relief soon. Praying, too, for all those impacted by in-coming Michael.
DeleteWilani, I love anything in the Appalachians. What a great culture.
DeletePraying for you to survive yet another storm.
Wilani, I know the area you are talking about. When we first moved to Sylva, we went to a Christmas Tree Farm out in that area. I miss that area so much. We are hoping to visit soon. I will be praying for you. Praying for your safety through the hurricane.
DeleteWilani, I love that the townsfolk in your story call in Punkin. I can't tell you how many towns in Texas are not pronounced the way we would think. Humble is pronounced Umble. If anyone calls it Humble, we know they're not from around these parts. And the town of Italy is call It'ly. Paris is still Paris, though. ;)
DeleteSorry Michael is wrecking havoc with your vertigo. Praying you'll feel better and he will meet a rapid demise.
Oh, Wilani, I'm so sorry that you're feeling the pressure already. Bless you!
DeleteBut I love Punkin Town! What a clever way to use the name phonetically in dialect. I love it!!!!
Good morning, Ruthy! Thank you for the tips on "what counts" when developing a fictional small town!
ReplyDeleteI love small towns...grew up in them in the Midwest (mostly Iowa and Missouri -- as well as Illinois for a bit) and spent time with family in other small towns in Texas.
When writing my Canyon Springs and Hunter Ridge series for Love Inspired, the physical aspects are a blend drawn from real-life Arizona mountain communities, but the "insides" came from the towns I remember so well from my youth. :)
SO many details to consider when "birthing" a new fictional town! (And FUN!)
Hope your farm's fall festival continues to boom! What are your temps like? It's now dipping down to 29 degrees for lows here in AZ mountain country with highs in the upper 40's/low 50's. And of course, you already know we got SNOW on Sunday -- the 9th earliest snowfall since official records started being kept in 1898! Had to dig out my winter jacket and gloves even on an otherwise sunny day due to 33 degree daytime wind chills. Brrrr! NOT ready for winter yet! :)
You.Had.Snow? Ew. I am so not ready for that, and I hear it's going to be a rough winter. Good luck with that.
DeleteKathy -- we had a little over half an inch in town, which was enough to bow branches of my big beautiful maple clear to the ground because, of course, it's still fully leafed. Broke a branch that had to be sawn off. :( At the higher elevations on nearby mountains, they got 6 inches, so I'm VERY thankful it mostly stayed up there! :)
DeleteWe had snow in October when I lived in Wisconsin, which is one reason I no longer live in Wisconsin.
DeleteGlynna, holy smokes you are on the flip side of global warming/climate change/weather! We've had two days of 80+ degrees, but also some mid-fifties before that. Lake Ontario (four miles from me) keeps us warm in the fall and COLD in the spring... so right now we reap the benefits of Great Lakes living but come March and April we'll be shrugging into WINTER COATS still... with snowflakes. And we've had a lot of snowy Easters here.
DeleteI love the aspects of small towns. I love merging them or taking parts of this, that and the other one and forming my own... and it's so fun to fill the town with characters that add flavor to the town! In the West... or here in the snowy Northeast... it's where my heart is!
DeleteGood morning Ruthy, I love small towns in fiction, the small screen and the big screen. Was raised on "Mayberry," so that informs a lot of my writing. Also covered small towns in my journalism career. One where the Town Hall was so small the three Selectmen met in a supply closet, and we had to move file boxes off the third chair if anyone besides me and the Police Chief showed up for a meeting. Another where the Selectman Chair, a crusty guy named Fred, didn't answer the phone at home but would talk to you if you came to his auto repair shop, where he held court every morning around an equally-crusty coffee pot with the town's Old Republican Men. Mrs. Fred brought him a hot lunch every day at noon. I tried to make it on Enchilada Day.
ReplyDeleteFred died this past summer, more's the pity, town government is gradually being taken over by people in suits with laptops.
I'll probably put Fred in a book someday.
The series I'm pitching right now takes place in a small New Hampshire town, an amalgam of New England towns I've known, in our legendary White Mountains. I have lots of local landmarks in my novel such as the site of the Old Man of the Mountains and the storied Kancamagus Highway, but the town itself is made up so I can put things where I want them. It has an old, mostly red brick town center, and there are some empty buildings because the economy isn't great since the mills closed. But these Yankees are resourceful. One woman does hair in her home, builds picnic tables, and sells live bait from her garage. Everyone has a little something extra going on. It's a sweet Hallmark-y town where the residents wrap their arms around you with unconditional love. Which is a problem for my heroine, both socially and spiritually, because a horrific childhood has made her unable to trust or ACCEPT unconditional love. The hero, a California boy and newly-minted pastor, doesn't want to be there, it's "too small, too cold and too Yankee," but nobody else wanted him, and he figures he'll get some "ministerial brownie points" and leave. Ha ha, that's not going to happen.
Small towns are a crucible for making things happen. The second-best alternative is to have a neighborhood or enclave in a city and focus on that. Most cities are really small towns stitched together by a zip code or two.
Small towns are the best and worst of us. When they turn on you it can be a nightmare -- but when they work, there's no better place to be.
I LOVE your small town ideas, Kathy!
DeleteMe, too, Glynna! I love when people have multiple at-home businesses, kind of like "Dixie Rose Deluxe's" from that country song! Your general store early on reminded me of that...
DeleteKathy I love all this.
I was talking with some other locals today and as one was listing all the unique personalities in the town, I was amazed at how many there were... and how we all know them!
Life's a strange ride sometimes, but everyone does die famous in a small town. :)
Small towns. I could go on forever. Wait a minute, I just did.
ReplyDeleteNot from a book, but I love Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. I totally agree about Avonlea. I'm also a little partial to Jamison, NY from the Men of Allegheny County series. ;)
ReplyDeleteI just enjoy small town settings over urban settings, but I am a small town girl so those settings appeal to me more.
I loved Stars Hollow, too! It's so Yankee!!!!
DeleteGood Morning Ruthy! I live in small town Kansas, Bennington is the name of the town and it is tiny. Main street (businesses)is a block long. My fit bit measures 5000 steps if I walk the perimeter. I love small town life and it's not because of the smallness. As you said and as Thea learns, it isn't the town but the people that make it home. There is nothing like the sense of community in a place like Bennington Kansas. It almost defies description and must be experienced. However - reading the Wishing Bridge books gives me the feeling of being home and with real friends. I love that feeling, love those books and love you for writing them so realistically.
ReplyDeleteAh, Bennington! I'm a Salina girl, born and raised! There used to be a great quilt shop in Bennington...Kansas Troubles? Is it still there?
DeleteHi Erica - Kansas Troubles is still there. I work right next door to it at the school district office. Come visit sometime. I would so love to meet you in person.
DeleteOh, what a name for a quilt shop! Kansas Troubles????
DeleteWhere did that come from????
And you two were almost neighbors. WHAT????
A small world after all!!!
I absolutely love stories set in small towns. I came from a town of about 350 people. While there can be bad in a small town, everyone knowing everyone's business, there is mostly good. A lot of community support through everything. I miss it a lot.
ReplyDeleteJoy, I love that idea, 350 people! My Shepherd's Crossing series is small like that... and then you have Kirkwood Lake that's more like the 8,000 people around the lake... and then you have a couple thousand in Wishing Bridge.
DeleteEither way, it's so much fun to create the town and fit the town and stories together!
I love small towns, Ruthy. Living in them, reading about them, writing about them... Quirky characters stand out in small towns. And the towns themselves usually have a few quirks that only serve to make the setting richer.
ReplyDeleteMindy, me too... although I did come up with an urban setting women's fiction idea recently that might go into the 2019 schedule... Because I do love to see cities begin to thrive again, too!
DeleteBut small towns have my heart!
Ruthy -- I enjoy big city stories when they are handled like small towns -- you know, concentrated in a small area where you get that cozy, walkable neighborhood feeling. The local deli and bakery and grocery store, the restaurants, the florist shop, hair stylist, the little boutiques, theatre, antique store... I can't wait to read yours! :)
DeleteRuthy, I love small towns! I think it's because I didn't grow up in one. I've always idealized the small town closeness (but maybe not the gossip and having everyone in your business!). haha
ReplyDeleteYou gave some great ideas for creating a town, things to consider including. Thank you!
Oh, the everyone knows your business is the down side which is why I'm not a social butterfly... a little privacy is a wonderful thing!
DeleteBut the other aspects are marvelous, aren't they???
I have lived in small towns and have some good memories from them. Since then I have mostly lived in towns of over 20,000 population, which many would still consider small. I do love reading stories set in small towns.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the drawing.
Will do, Sandy! And I think 20K or under is considered small town friendly. But you made a good point: the setup of the town will vary depending on its size, right? More people equates more services and government and shops. So that's part of what we writers look at when we create the towns or villages.
DeleteI`ve never lived in a small time but love visiting them. There`s something so inviting about them, and sometimes I think having a close knit community would be cool. But then again, everyone knows your name and business so if you don`t want the world to know your problems.... Hate the big cities and don`t even really like visiting them either. So maybe I`m just a medium-sized city gal. :) Thanks for the great post on what to think about when writing about small towns.
ReplyDeletePS - Thanks for including perhaps the best known Canadian literary work in your intro! I grew up with all things Anne.... :) LOVE Avonlea.
DeleteOh, Lee-Ann, I couldn't mention small towns and ignore one of the best drawn series of modern times. Talk about a timeless piece of work! I love that series so much!!!
DeleteAnd I can wave to Canada across the big pond of Ontario, so I feel a nice kinship with my near neighbors! :)
I love visiting the big cities... I really do. But the sadness and poverty in them now saddens me. I grew up in a medium city that was thriving 40 years ago... and now it's like a ghost town, so that's a sad reality in so many northeast and midwest cities.
I'd love to see that change!!!!
I am a small town book reader. I love the settings and the sense of pride in community the characters have. It's also wonderful how much people care for one another. In books I also enjoy the occasional busy body who knows everything about everyone. In real life my cousins lived in a small Ohio town and everyone knew when we were coming to visit.
ReplyDeletemarypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com
Maryann
Maryann, I love those busybodies, too! They add such flavor to the story, don't they? Like making it real in a sea of fiction.
DeleteI'm so glad you stopped by today.
And you hit the nail on the head about the caring people... they make it the kind of place we'd all like to visit or even live... and that makes the author happy!
I love small town settings, especially, in my case, frontier or prairie towns, because there is such an isolated feeling about them. People have to rely on each other, and have to get along, and are all up in each others' business because there are so few other options.
ReplyDeleteNow I want to go re-read Anne of Green Gables.
We should have an Anne-fest!!!!!
DeleteI love small town settings! The sense of community and charm is so special.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth:
ReplyDeleteI can agree with everything your wrote and then some.
I've given a lot of thought to how a small town should be drawn in a romance:
1. the town needs to be sympathetic and a place where the reader would like to live or at least visit. (Like Glynnis's "Canyon Springs".) Don't forget the reader is going to spend hours in that town so it should be a place they will enjoy spending time. (and going back to again and again.)
2. the town needs to be given the importance of a major character…this is even more important when the town is part of a series. The town should not be just wallpaper in the background. It should be a place where the events that happen there would be in character.
Be a two-way town. That is, don't be a one-way town where the town is always being changed, on the fly, to fit the needs of the plot. Allow the existing town to foreshadow the important upcoming events in the narrative.
3. the same efforts that are used to make characters seem real and come alive need to be applied to making the town real. Street names should be chosen to validate the theme or personality of the town.
4. backstory about the town should flow naturally in the unfolding of the story and not be dumped on the reader. The author should draw a map of the town and add to it when new locations are added. It should be noted on the map when important events happen at given locations. Also directions to places should always make sense given directions in other parts of the book or series.
5. the town needs to be given the attention to detail that is given a major character. This includes:
a. careful choice of name and all that implies with streets and monuments.
b. a personality with hopes, fears and quirks
c. something that town is known for like a peach or strawberry festival.
6. lesser characters should be memorable as being part of the town like the town barber. The barber makes the town barber shop more real.
7. hopefully the town will be so drawn in the reader's mind that the reader could visit that town and be able to recognize the town and the major characters should the reader meet them.
That's all.
Vince
What a great list of advice, Vince! Thank you so much. I love a town you can mentally visit, too.
DeleteAwww, I love small towns! I sure wish I could like in one. I live in the middle of Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas...where the boundaries mesh together in one big traffic jam. I think I like the idea of small town community, knowing your neighbors, and truly supporting each other. It has a feeling of the early New Testament church. :)
ReplyDeleteYour book is beautiful and I love the name. I'd love to read it!
Oh my stars, my son just moved to Dallas and I can't wait to go annoy him... oops, I mean VISIT HIM, of course!
DeleteAnd the one time I drove between Dallas and Fort Worth I think I may have SCARED Sandra and the other Seekers who were riding along. Let's just say that New York drivers are quite at home in that crazy fast, bumper to bumper insanity. :) There may have been some bobbing and weaving going on, darling!
Hi Ruthy, I am a small town gal and, even though it has drastically changed, I still have never wanted to live elsewhere. I grew up in the county seat and I now live about 15 miles away. We used to have several clothing stores and several restaurants that served good home cooking but now, we have fast food and my mom once remarked that we couldn't even buy a good slip in our town! So yes, we are limited in shopping opportunities but we still have the spirit that made our country great. We care for our neighbors and we actually know most of them very well. Our church provides bereavement dinners for people who live near and we have a food bank that helps people who are going through hardships. We have a super library (I was a part of the staff for 22 1/2 years) and a modern high school, middle school and several elementary schools throughout the county. And, for the most part, we have a place where we don't have to fear constantly about robbery or worse.
ReplyDeleteLarge cities are meant for some people but I will choose places like Flemingsburg, KY or Wishing Bridge, NY.
I would love to win your book.
Blessings!
Connie, you pointed out some really interesting and telling things: The old department stores that used to carry this and that and more... they're gone and if you can't sustain a mall, then there's really few spots to shop... and then we find the ease of online shopping to be SO NICE!!!!
DeleteAnd we keep the cycle going.
I love your bereavement dinners. That is such an act of love and I'm a big fan of food banks. What a help they are to so many, Connie!
Ruthy, I love books set in small towns. And Avonlea?! Big sigh. One of my favorites from the Lake of Shining Waters to Green Gables. I also just finished Come Rain or Come Shine, one of the latest Mitford novels by Jan Karon. From St. Mary Mead to Broward's Rock (Carolyn Hart's Annie and Max locale), I love visiting small towns. Thanks for the tips as next week I'll begin to plot another small town for my newest WIP.
ReplyDeleteTanya, I love Mitford so much!!!! And I look at Jan Karon's climb to fame, how a little book from a little press caught so many eyes! And now look at it.... Amazing!
DeleteAnd I bet this new WIP will be wonderful, my friend! Still praying for that call, Tanya. This was the hardest time for me before the call came... knowing I was good enough. Knowing I'd work hard enough. And still waiting... BUT!!!! I've had the time of my life once the waiting was over, pretty lady, and I know you will, too. Hang in there. Be tough.
Ruthy, I did not know how Jan Karon's novel-writing career got started, so when I saw your comment I went and read about it. Wow. Amazing and encouraging. So glad you mentioned it!
DeleteAfter having grown up in small towns, my husband has dragged me to living in the suburbs of cities for the last couple of years, and several more before that. I love small towns, though. I miss them, but I love my big-city husband more. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hear you loud and clear, Amy! So maybe you guys will retire to a small town one day... and how charming would that be????
DeleteAnd marriage is all about compromise, isn't it? And kisses and fried chicken!
That love for small towns doesn't fade, though. There is something intrinsically American and solid about getting by instead of getting ahead and I think that's the vibe we all love.
Yes! I will always love small towns even if right now I am enjoying having my craft stores so accessible in the city. ;-)
DeleteAnd my husband is great at kisses AND fried chicken. So, yes to that, too!
Great post with so many terrific ideas.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Houston, TX and moved outside of a small town 17 years ago. LOVE. IT!
You're wise to discuss services, and lack thereof. I've found that here neighbors help each other more than I was used to. It's such a blessing!
MANY congrats on your current bestsellers! Woot!!!
November can't come fast enough since I get to MEET YOU at the Christy Awards! WAHOOOO!!! ;)
KC, they're so different, aren't they? From size to size they vary a lot! :)
DeleteLove this post, Ruthy! And I LOVE small towns!! Mitford would be my very favorite, but there's something special about small towns in general (imho).
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS on your wonderful BESTseller status (not surprised!) and I'm still super happy about your Christy Final!! YAY RUTHY!! :)
Please toss me in the cat dish for the 2nd Wishing Bridge book!
Hugs, Patti Jo
I am tossing you in, absolutely! And I love Mitford, too. Father Tim and Cynthia!!!! What a great concept!
DeleteI love small towns! I grew up in one, where no one locked their door, we walked to church and to "town," and most everyone knew everyone else. I moved away when I got married, but moved back about 12 years ago. It's no longer a small town, but still maintains that small town atmosphere to a degree. The court square is still there in the center of town, and lots of small shops and great restaurants surround it. There's probably thousands more people living there now than when I grew up there. I think small towns call to all of us. There are a lot of my classmates who said they would never move back - and guess where they now live? Yep, they moved back to that "small town." Please put my name in the cat dish for your book!
ReplyDeleteAnd, congrats on your being a best-seller!
Edwina, we've had a few grow like that around here, too. They became desired places and all of a sudden their population multiplied by ten.... and that's huge!
DeleteComing home....
That's such a great story starter right there. Because we can always come home. :)
I love small town stories. I live in one and I love the feel of it. I enjoy the slower pace and the community of it. Our valley is surrounded by mountains, which gives it a secluded, protected feel. Congratulations on your new best-seller! Throw my name in the cat dish for a chance to win! Hugs, sweet friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Winnie! I'm tossing that name right in and I appreciate your kind words. And a valley small town.... there's romance, for you! Nestled in the valley...
DeleteAnd of course it can make you feel protected....
OR TRAPPED!!!! Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
Thanks for the tips, Ruthie. Small town stories can be some of the best for almost any genre. It's where we get to know the characters well, and we love them, or sometimes have an aversion to them. But we feel their pain or their happiness, and we cry or laugh with them. It's honestly where the microcosm of the world happens. Keep giving us more of the same, and people will always come back for more.
ReplyDeleteDonna, hey! Good to see you! And I totally agree on the microcosm. A big city is nothing more than a small town on steroids....
DeleteIf the exponent of the population is similar to the square of the industry, then our equation stays happy.
(I have no idea what I just said, but it sounds good. Right????)
:)
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ReplyDelete