Friendships important in my work

I'm revising my newest middle grade novel – “Will, Middle Name Trouble" – and as I was going through the edits from my bestie writing friend, Beth Vrabel, I came across this note.

 That is a perfect example of loyalty. Love it!

Beth’s note made me smile. It followed an exchange between boys that demonstrated the depth of their friendship. Beth has read every one of my novels and it seems that no matter who the target audience is (8- to 12-year-olds, teens or women) the novel contains strong friendships. It's something she always makes a note of. 

Friendships are important to me. I still get together with two of my best friends (Robin and Kris) once a month to catch up on our lives (besides phone calls, texts and emails in between). I don’t think I ever intentionally set out to make friendships so important in my work; it’s something that just happens. Like a sneeze you can’t stop. I think it’s because it’s who I am. Part of my writing DNA, ya know?

Do friendships play an important part in your work?