The last week of August 2004, Mollie and I flew to Hawaii for the Maui Writer’s Retreat and Conference. We got on the shuttle bus to the hotel and sat down beside this grumpy, taciturn guy, who said his name was Bob Mayer. I recognized him from the e-mail list all the Maui teachers were on where he’d been this jolly, joking guy, and I told him I’d imagined him as a lot older with a red nose. He was not amused.
We found out we were teaching in rooms next to each other, and every day he’d come over and gaslight me about the conference (he’d been there before, I was a newbie). Then one night in the teacher’s lounge (liberal amounts of free booze), he brought me a glass of white wine and said, “I think we should collaborate.” I thought it was more gaslighting, so I said, “Good one, Bob,” and he went away. When he was gone, Mollie said, “That was really mean.” I said, “He was kidding.” She said, “No, he wasn’t.”
So the next day I went looking for him and apologized and we sat outside in the sun and talked about it while people at other tables leaned to listen. He gave me an ARC of Bodyguard of Lies and he got a copy of Faking it, and we retired to separate corners to read because neither of us had ever read the other. The next day we met again and I said, “Lot of infodump.” He said, “Lot of dialogue.” We looked at each for a moment, and I said, “What the hell, I’m in.” And he said, “Yep.”
Twenty years later . . .
I have learned a lot from Bob in twenty years. We pancaked as collaborators six years later because we both had issues, but we never lost touch, and when I was drowning in depression and writer’s block, I yelled for help, and he came through, as always. Actually, we’ve both learned a lot in the ensuing fifteen years since we parted, but the thing that keeps the partnership going is that at this point, we trust each other. We’re both trying to write the best books possible, so aside from a few surprise creeks, we don’t argue much now. He still gaslights me, of course, there are the Lancelots and the zombies and the Bratva ice pirate babies, but he has to put up with my frequent meltdowns and two spaces after a period, so it evens out. And since we’re self-publishing now, a lot of the trauma is gone, and we’re just having fun. It’s a very good collaboration, a very good partnership, a very good friendship, and I am very grateful he handed me that white wine twenty years ago.
Happy anniversary, Bob. And thank you.
NYC 2005:
69 Responses
Wow, am I the first to see this (and comment ;o))?
Happy anniversary, here’s to a load more successful collaborations!
And we are so glad you guys are together!!
Yes, I agree with Colognegrrl and Cathy.
And here’s to a load more bottles of white wine!
Congratulations! I am so glad that you and Bob are collaborating because I love the book results.
Also, I’m so glad you’re writing again because I sorely missed you when you weren’t! ❤️
My sentiments exactly. Couldn’t have said it better.
Wow! 20 years! Congrats 📚✍️
Congratulations! Wishing you many happy returns of the day, as my great-aunt used to say.
Yay! Congratulations! Now back to writing! 😉
Cheers! Congratulations!
Congratulations!! I vividely remember your post from 20 years ago about the conference. What a wonderful outcome for you and all of us ❤️
Since you never seem to be in the same room together, I hope you have an amazing virtual celebration! Congratulations (and well done) to both of you!
Well, Jenny what ever wad needed to get you writing again I’m all for it. I remember commenting on your website about you writing again. You responded with maybe I will “some day”, but it will be if and when I’m ready.
Thank you Bob for getting her to that “some day”. I have ready all the books & re-read them.
Happy 20th to you both.
Thank God, you guys found each other!
Congratulations! 🎉 I am very happy the two of you got together as I have greatly enjoyed the stories you two have created.
I’ve seen how you both have evolved in your writing. I’m glad your collaboration is continuing.
Wonderful! I love that photo. It kind of summarizes your relationship. You have each other’s back, and you also are in different places, geographically. Molly did you a big favor! Here’s to twenty more years!
That’s great. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate 20 years of collaboration. Congratulations to both of you for making it work, and of course as readers we get to enjoy the benefits.
Happy anniversary! What a wonderful story. If he’d never read anything you’d written, I’m curious as to what made him think you should collaborate. Bob, care to share? Pretty please.
I recall from earlier versions of the story that Bob said he and Jenny talked the same way.
So his crazy recognized her crazy? That’s how the best friendships are made.
I think that was a lot of it. Same sense of humor. Vastly different personalities and vastly different personal problems that eventually kneecapped us, but the same approach to fiction and to humor. Both very serious about our writing and not much else. And he made me laugh. That was big. We just had fun.
A successful business partnership is actually more rare than a successful romantic one so hats off to the both of you!
Happy anniversary!
You are the Tracy & Hepburn of our generation & I adore you.
Happy collaboversary!!! Every time I read one your collabs, I find a new thing to like in them that I missed the last time around. I hope you guys continue to have a blast writing the stories you want to write (without a publisher telling you no) for many more years to come! Thanks for all the great writing and great times ♥
We have all benefited from your work together; thanks to both of you for figuring out how to do this writing and friendship thing. Congrats on twenty years! I’m already looking forward to the possible art fraud series.
Me, too. And if Carter has become a lawyer and Nadine is a Goodnight seems like a romance over solving art fraud is a no brainer.
Happy Anniversary!! It’s been fun sitting on the sidelines, popcorn at the ready. 😉
Nothing but Good Times ahead!
Awww, this is sweet.
I’m seriously wondering how he got the idea that y’all should collaborate when he hadn’t even read your work, though. Psychic instinct?
Aw. Happy Collabiversary. 🙂
I’ve long felt you and Bob were living a meta story. Somewhere, there’s an author writing a series about these two unique personalities who were writing opposite genres coming together in this Ricky and Lucy kind of partnership. I’ll let you tell us who’s who.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy anniversary! Here’s to many more. 💐🍾 🖖
Happy collab-iversary to you both–and to all us lucky readers who get to enjoy the work! Wishing you many more decades of Too Much Dialogue!!! and Ice Pirate Zombies!!! (And go, Molly, for figuring it all out first!) <3
Congrats on making it work! Now I’m looking forward to a book where the MCs splash through Surprise Creek.
This is an absolute gem of a story. I love the vibe the two of you bring to your books. Absolutely blessed the universe brought you together.
I can’t decide which of your collab books I love the most! But I listen to Agnes and Wild Ride numerous times. I would do the same for Don’t Look Down but for some reason that audio version is very very difficult to get. What’s up with that?
Happy Anniversary!!
Happy anniversary to a writing match made in heaven! And here’s to hoping for MANY MORE collaborations. You two are storytelling geniuses, and you complement each other so perfectly. I enjoy every single word you both write. <3
Happy aniversary!
I’m so glad you picked up the collaboration again, I’m really enjoying the books you write together.
I also really enjoyed your solo books, but since you got stuck writing solo I’m very glad that writing together got you unstuck again and going like a train, full steam ahead!
Happy anniversary!!! So happy you sought him out and apologized!! Without that we might never have all these wonderful stories!!!
Sorry about the abundance of exclamation points.
Here’s to many more years of writing together, life is so much better with books you want to keep reading over and over.
So, glad you followed up because I love your books and your collaborations with Bob. Maybe I should read some of his books too?
I just finished rereading Don’t Look Down and Wild Ride, coincidentally. Very happy you found each other!
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto…
Doesn’t feel right if there is one space only. Just wrong.
Happy Collaboration Anniversary! I have thoroughly enjoyed your works, both single and collaborated. 😊
I have the best people in my life now because of that glass of wine. Please pass along my thanks to Bob.
What a great story. Happy anniversary!!!!!!! Wishing you many more collaborations to come.
Congratulations Jenny and Bob! So happy you guys teamed up and kept that partnership going to provide us with hours of fun and joy! Also wishing you many more future collaborations!
Happy anniversary, Jenny and Bob. It’s such a delightful collaboration, viewed from the outside and from the results. Long may it continue!
Oh, happy anniversary Jenny and Bob! I’ve loved your stories, He Wrote/She Wrote, and the glimpses of your friendship through the years. We’re all happier for the connection. 🙂
Happy collaboversary! I’ve enjoyed every book and am patiently awaiting VNF.
Happy anniversary! You guys have always made me chuckle, you are the sibling neither one of you ever wanted.
I really enjoy the books that you two have written in collaboration. The humour is what really makes it for me. Keep on writing!
Happy anniversary and many many more you are the most delightful collaborators I know and I am so grateful that you got together. And I love that it started in Hawaii.
Congratulations on your 20th anniversary and may there be many more Jenny/Bob books for us to enjoy.
Congratulations! I’m happy for you & envious at the same time. I would love to have someone to collaborate with. Sigh…
Keep on writing great books together! I loved Rocky Start & am eagerly anticipating VNF & HPP!
Congratulaions! I’m finalling reading “Rocky Start” and loving it. Also this: “since we’re self-publishing now, a lot of the trauma is gone, and we’re just having fun” The joys of self-publishing 🙂
Hello! I wanted to ask if you took down “The Assassination of Cordelia Chase”? It was such a seminal essay that defined the Buffy fandom’s discussion around Cordelia’s writing, but it seems to be gone from your site! Did it move links? Would love to read it again 🙂
I didn’t, but we’re in the process of revamping the site. Let me check.
Yep, three are missing. I’ve let the Webmistress know. If worse comes to worse, I’ll have her e-mail you a copy since I don’t have one.
Thank you for the head’s up!
Ditto to all above. Look at all the joy you have caused together.
Happy anniversary and cheers to many more! I love your collaborations – way fun books!! Thanks to you both for many hours of reading enjoyment!!
Mahalo, Jenny & Bob.
How has it been twenty years?! I remember this joining of the minds and all the fun we had with the blog after that—I still have printouts of some of the stuff because your advice was so good between the two of you I didn’t want to forget it! Still glad you found each other and I’m very glad I found you 🙂 Keep having fun—nothing but good times ahead ❤️
Wow! Congratulations on many great books! Love them all!
What a fantastic tribute! Congratulations!
Two spaces after a period…yesss!
That writing blog changed my whole life, even my name. I am a different person because of you and your collaboration. Thank you for years and years of beautifully written stories. I have no idea who I would be without what you brought to me life, and I’m glad I never have to find out.
Oh, thank you! I needed that this week!
Your books and blog have made me a much pickier reader. And now I am able to articulate why something does or does not catch my attention
Given how much time I spend in other people’s written worlds I’m grateful that I’m ending up in a better class of establishment these days.
Books strongly affect my mood, too. I always feel more hopeful, even energetic, when I’ve been reading yours, and yours with Bob.
Thank you
You know how people who spend time together tend to develop language use in common? Like a generation of buffyisms. My partners and I definitely have bits from your books between us. And not just because of me reading them all multiple times, they’ve read some too.
Congratulation on your twentieth! Relationships that help should be celebrated. Most of my friendships I wouldn’t be able to date closer than “might have been in the Fall of (range of 2-3 years)?”