Writers are storytellers.  That's who we are and what we do.  We who write fiction make stuff up. 

We seek to entertain, and to touch the hearts of readers.  We hope that when they pick up our books they can lose themselves in the stories for a few hours and enjoy the journey.

We create characters and put them in any number of situations that they have to work through.  We are inspired by legends, or inspired to make up new ones.  Sometimes we create brand new worlds.

And sometimes, behind our roles as storytellers, our own life experiences are deeply moving, fascinating, and as interesting or profound as anything you'll read in a work of fiction.

Possibly more so because those experiences aren't made up.  They're real and we lived them.

Such is the case with two of my good friends, Rhonda Pollero and Traci Hall.  You know their novels.  Rhonda writes mysteries under her own name and romantic suspense as Kelsey Roberts and her career spans over 15 years.  Traci Hall, who also writes as Traci E. Hall, is off and running with her newer career writing medieval light paranormal romances and young adult books.

They have also collaborated on a non-fiction book that was recently released called Adoption is Forever.

This heart-touching, personal account looks at adoption from two perspectives.  As a single teenager, Traci made the difficult choice to give up a baby for adoption.  Rhonda and her husband Bob lost their beloved son Kyle to cardiomyopathy.  They later chose to adopt their daughter Katie from Russia when she was three years old.

Rhonda and Traci are blogging about their book and sharing excerpts from it this week over at Babes in Bookland.  I urge you to visit and read their words. 

You will be deeply moved, as I am, by their stories.