I met Emma Arnold in Pittsburgh in the lobby of a hotel more than ten years after I met her on MySpace. I’ve known Emma over states and homes and various careers.
From the start, we connected over two things: great writing and awesome storytelling.
When I finished my first novel, she was among the first who read it — and told me I needed to fix that ending (which I knew). We’ve followed each other’s blogs over the years, and in so doing have followed each other’s lives.
I wasn’t surprised to hear she was doing stand-up; she’s always been the funniest and wittiest writer I know. She doesn’t just have a way with words; she has a way with using them to make you feel. And originally I wrote “to make you laugh,” but I had to revise that, because what I think makes Emma’s writing (and comedy) so great is that it’s not just about the laughs. It’s about the feeling, the connection, the reality, and the truth.