I like Friday the 13th. Thirteen is a great number. Why? First of all, my birthday is on the 13th, April 13th. Every once in a while it lands on a Friday, and I feel just as lucky then as when it falls on a Tuesday. The gifts are just as much fun to open. Publisher's Weekly has handed us at SheWrites a gift by calling attention to the lack of books by women writers on their Top 10 list. I also like Friday the 13th because 13 is the number of a coven. Covens are powerful. Every women needs her coven, no matter what her religion is or what she thinks about witches. We need our circle of women friends, our old or new girls network. Our sister courage. Our girl gangs. One of us alone can accomplish a lot, but 13 of us together make a movement. Remember, thirteen colonies started a revolution and formed a new nation in 1776. Kamy has challenged us to create our own revolution. Third, according to some traditions, twelve is considered "complete" but 13 is deemed "irregular" because it disrupts the “even dozen.” That makes me like 13 even better because in my experience disruption, or chaos, is opportunity. In a time of chaos, people are open to new ideas they wouldn’t have considered when things were normal. Chaos breeds innovation. Or, as in the case of the disruption/chaos of the recession, it’s the opportunity for women to advance into positions they haven’t held before. Men made the messes we’re in, and everyone can see that women might just be able to clean them up. So more women are moving into leadership positions in business and politics. That can only be a good thing. Just as it was a good thing for Publisher's Weekly to jolt us to action. Bet they won't make the same mistake next year! So I like 13 just fine. As it happens, I have 13 books by women on my running list of books I either need either as references for the book I’m writing—Woman Unlimited—or because I just want to read them. So at 1pm—1300—today, Friday the 13th, I’ll meander over to the bookstore and load up. Thanks, Kamy, for giving us this great idea! PS. I like black cats too.