Recently I received emails from two of the first Active Rain friends I ever made, Bill Cherry and Tom Braatz.

Glancing at Bill's email subject line and seeing 'lemonade', I wondered just what he was up to now.
Bill has contacted me a few times in the past with contest ideas for the Inspiration Group, so I thought
that perhaps he had come up with a new contest idea that somehow or other involved lemonade (you never know with Bill).
I was very touched and honoured when I read the email body and saw that Bill had chosen me as one of his Top 10 favourite writers here in the Rain. Tom's lemonade award soon followed.

Knowing these two gentlemen quite well and being very aware of their own outstanding talent as writers, I felt very honoured that they had chosen me. Now the onus was on me to choose 10 of my own favourite writers here at Active Rain and I knew I had a difficult job looming.

Pondering by the fire, i glanced far off to the snow-laden, white pine branches outside my window and one by one images of these writers came to me.

Each of the following members have left indelible marks upon my heart, both as writers and as the people who they are.

1. Bill Cherry~ Bill is a published author and Real Estate Broker in Dallas, Texas and one of the very finest writers we have here at Active Rain. If you haven't yet discovered his writing, you're in for a real treat.
I came across Bill's blog quite by accident in the early days of my time here at AR and was totally in awe of his amazing talent for story-telling.
Bill and I became friends and one day, I was taken by complete surprise when a special package arrived in my mailbox, all the way from Texas. It was an autographed copy of Bill's delightfully entertaining book 'Galveston Memories'.
I finished the book in two nights and then passed it along to my Dad. From then onwards I dreamed of growing up on Galveston Island or at the very least, since I was already grown up, of visiting there one day.

2. Carole Provenzale~ Carole is a master in the art of Feng Shui and owns Feng Shui Long Island. She is by far the most caring and gentle soul I have come to know here in Active Rain.
Carole writes with warmth, passion, supreme talent, intuition, knowledge and skill. Her posts not only impart great wisdom and wonder in the unseen mysteries that surround us, they also teach us a great deal about Feng Shui.
She is truly one of the greatest treasures here at AR and I feel greatly blessed that she is one of my closest and most cherished friends.

3. Jennifer Bukaty~ Jen is a real estate agent in Portland, Oregon (although I think she may soon be relocating to PA). Her writing tweaks through your cells, tugging and pulling at places you forgot were there.
Her depth and ability comes out in prose that draws to the surface of your being all human emotions wrapped up into one. Yep, she's that good.

4. Jason Sardi~ Jason, a Mortgage Broker from Allentown, PA, is one of the few writers I've come across who is able to tell it like it is, no holds barred, and pull it off with such finesse, talent and class that one becomes hooked after the first few words.
His mortgage articles are a must, not only for those interested in purchasing a property, but also for all of those in the housing industry who would like to keep abreast of the changes in the business.
You never know what to expect from Jason, however you can be assured that whatever he is writing about, his style will draw you in and he'll keep you interested right from the first paragraph.
BTW, Jason and Jennifer (see above) are one of Active Rain's few true love stories.

5. Elizabeth Nieves~ Elizabeth, a Real Estate Broker from Durham, North Carolina, recounts her life experiences in such vivid detail and with such emotion that the reader can't help but feel they have lived through the experience as well. Her blogs will bring tears to your eyes and at times will fill you with warmth from top to bottom.

6. Tom Braatz~ Tom is a top commercial and residential real estate broker in Southeastern Wisconsin.
It was within the first week of my joining Active Rain back in the late spring of 2007 that Tom and I connected and rapidly became close friends.
His style of writing is very rarely seen as he speaks with such direct honesty that you can't help but feel you are sitting across the table from him listening as he recounts a tale.
Tom has that rare ability to combine simplicity and depth and leave you feeling that the story has so many more layers than what you're actually reading on the page.  His subject matter transitions with ease ranging all the way from real estate to the communities that he serves to renditions of people he has known to anecdotes about his son, Spencer and his best friend, Lars, the German Shepherd.

7. Kathy Clulow~ Kathy, a real estate salesperson right here in Ontario in the Uxbridge region, is an artist in the truest sense. No matter what subject she chooses to write about, her skilled use of descriptive metaphor cause her posts to come to life right before the reader's eyes.
Too many times to mention, she has made me want to hop in my car and drive to her area to take part in whatever she has chosen to blog about.
Definitely one of the finest writers I know and a dear friend who lives not too far away.

8. Penny Hull~ When Penny, of Stanton Homes, Raleigh, NC, blogs about a local attraction, she does it with a thoroughness that defies description. She is one of the very top marketing/localism writers I have come across.  Her company, is extremely fortunate to have her blogging on their behalf.
For all of you who are wondering how to craft a first class localism post, be sure to visit Penny's blog.

9. Gary Wotal~ Gary is a real estate agent in Dallas, Texas. Once you discover Gary's inspirational writing, you'll become a devoted fan of his daily wisdom. His writing has helped countless people here on AR and in the outside world.
He's a philosopher through and through and has a seldom seen gift for transcribing his thoughts to the written word.

10. Joan Mirantz~ 'Joni', a real estate agent from Concord, New Hampshire, has a clear, unique writer's voice that carves through the subject matter with such striking deftness that the reader is swept along on whatever journey she is taking them on with her gift for storytelling.
She has made me laugh, cry and marvel through blogs she has written and her gift for the use of humour in the written word is second to none.
She's also one of my first and dearest friends here at AR.

There are numerous other Active Rain members who's writing I greatly admire and my list could quite easily be close to 100 or more long.
No other site on the net has such an abundance of talent, knowledge and ingenuity as that which can be found amongst the members here at Active Rain.

~Jo