A note from Julilly
![Smiley :)](http://absolutechaos.net/fictalk/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
Our eyes first met across a hotel lobby. I was late, but she would come to learn that no matter the occasion, she would always be the one left waiting for my tardy arrival. After the first exchange of hellos it was clear that there were something between us. We were destined to be besties from the start.
Okay, okay, I'll stop being melodramatic. Seriously though, that is how Saka-Steph and I first met. Through a discussion here on the forum we both expressed interest in going to the NKOTBSB show in Toronto back in 2011. We had chatted on the forum before, both having Canadian passports in common, and had been at a few of the same shows separately in the past. We not only went to the same NKOTBSB show together, we also got a hotel room together along with one of my other friends. Essentially we were meeting strangers off the internet for the first time before committing to spend an entire weekend exploring Toronto together. It could have gone very poorly.
Luckily for me, it didn't. It seems like Steph and I have known each other as well as we do now for a lot longer than three years. She is one of my best friends, my vacation companion, frequent confident, and faithful beta reader. I've struggled with writing in the last few years and Steph has always been in my corner rooting for me, pushing me to write. She has been my one exclusive reader to a plethora of stories that have never seen the light of day and I can always rely on her honest review of my works as they develop.
I trust her opinion on my own writing because I have a lot of respect for hers. Though her proclivity for fanfic is leaning in a bit of a different 'direction' these days, I will always enjoy the way Steph portrays real life in such an honest way. Even when writing a romance she will forgo the obvious over-dramatic turn in exchange for moments that seem genuine and believable, which is exactly how I feel romance should be written.
I'm happy to see that everyone else also has an appreciation for Steph's writing. I want to congratulate her on being selected among this collection of AC greats and look forward to a month of Sakabelle.