Thank you, Julie.

Author's Note: I never met Julie face to face. Ours was a long distance relationship; literally from one coast, to the other. And she would have gotten the pun too. We emailed each other often, and she always commented on my stories. She was...a friend. I cried when I read about her passing. I am crying while I post this. I originally put it up as a reply. But I think more folks might read a bit about how powerful Julie's influence and reach...was- if they read it as a Story. A True Story! We love you, Julie. And thanks.
*****

A quiet hero. Julie was one of those. My post may be longer than most. For sure, it is the longest I have ever left on any of the threads. Why?

Because there isn’t enough room to tell you all about the Julie I know. Like most of us here on StoryStar- I was a person who never really thought I could do any writing that would be published anywhere. And if I did, who would take the time to read any of it?

I did not want to write “Books”. That isn’t my forte. But I thought I could spin a yarn, tell a tale, and spout a story. But that was my own opinion… until … JULIE!

I submitted my first story in 2013. I forget the name of it. Julie… did not. She sent me a private email about my first story. She had commented on it on StoryStar. But something in her- told her to contact me, and give me more support. So she did just that. Cajoling me, encouraging me, and inspiring me to write more stories.

“Kevin, you have talent. You have a knack for short stories. Just because you are older, retired and autistic… Does not mean you cannot nurture that talent. You are a Writer.“

Nobody had ever called me a “Writer“ before. Heck, when the Nuns used to grade my essays in English class… They came back with so much red ink on them… that I thought the nuns must’ve all had paper cuts. My grammar was atrocious, my handwriting – illegible– and my use of punctuation wasn’t based on any known rules of style. But sometimes the story was still good. And that is what Julie focused on.

And not just for me.

Read any of Julie’s comments on any of the thousands of stories she took the time to read and comment on – and you will find that unique mix of brutal honesty and careful critique. Often joined with the powerful message of: “You are a Writer… And you can do better.“ Julie did not care about your voice. She just wanted to hear it. If she thought you didn’t put effort into it… she told you so. If she pointed out parts where, as a Writer, you could’ve made better choices, or you needed to short up your grammatical toolbox… you would’ve done well to listen to her. I did. And I got better.

Because Julie didn’t give idle chatter as advice. She gave concrete, brief, and accurate comments. If she said it was good enough to win StoryStar of the Day, Week- or month… then that story deserved it. I don’t know how many people she managed to uplift, convince, and help come to believe they were a Writer. My guess is that number is Legion. For I am one of those number.

Julie told me I could write 100 stories. I had written just three stories at that time. I told her she was “nuts.“ She laughed. (something Julie did as naturally as breathing.)

“Kevin, three stories… Three good stories. Three different stories. If you have that kind of imagination and creativity that you displayed and just those three stories… You must have hundreds more to tell.“

And so, I hit 100 stories. She sent me an email:

“… So I guess 200 stories would be a good goal.“

This time I laughed. Julie did not. She believed I could write another 100 stories. I did. When I wrote number 200… I sent her a box of chocolates from a chocolate tier here in town. That is when I found out she likes dark chocolate with sea salt. I sent her a box of dark chocolate samples… With sea salt– when I hit 300 stories.

She made me promise not to send her any more chocolate. I agreed. She knew that like a lot of Writers, I did not have much disposable income. It is one of the reasons she had kept the site… FREE. She could’ve leverage it into all kinds of multiple streams of income – but she did not. Why?

Because she wanted you, me, all of us… to get our work published and out there. She knew that, even if the story was not that good, not that well written, not that well told… It was still your story. Get it out there. Read more. Write more. Get better. Post another story. And we did. All of us. I don’t have the statistics… But I would not be surprised if the number of folks who only published one story… And stopped – is a tiny fraction of a percent.

Why?

Julie.

Julie kept us involved, relevant, engaged. Even when she had no money despair, she kept upgrading the platform. Fixing bugs, improving systems, anything she could do to keep it up and running. Even when she was dying.

Even then, she thought about us, her: “literary litter of Writers“. To her- we were all her children. The offspring of her baby: StoryStar.

Just days before her final breath… She was reading our stories, emails, and comments. And thanking Denise for her seamless takeover. She knew Denise would do a wonderful job – and she has. So thank you, Denise.

Julie believed in an afterlife, her faith was unwavering. Not just in her God, but in us. All of us. Even the pain and discomfort of progressive cancer could not stop her from caring about us. And her lifelong message never changed:

“You are a Writer. Yes, you are! So tell your story. I will post it. You can write. I believe in you. You have something to say… So say it. And I will get it out there. I believe in you. You are unique. You are a Writer. I am so proud of you.“

And she was.