I read your book….

Okay, so this post might be a bit rambling. Those who know me really shouldn’t be surprised, though.

I got a few messages from people who read ‘Of Love and Corn Dogs’, and it got me thinking about things.

When I read The Telling by Eden Winters (my first MM romance, by the way. If you haven’t read it, click the link and get a copy for free!) I was so moved by the story, that I wrote to Eden and told her how much I appreciated it.

Now, in my mind an author was akin to a rockstar. I couldn’t imagine they’d actually reply to the mail. (Actually, I thought she’d have an assistant who would send me out a canned reply and an autographed poster suitable for framing which, by the way, would be cool!). Instead, I got a very nice letter from her, which started my friendship with this sweet southern belle.

There were others I wrote to as well. K-Lee Klein (who said I was her first ever fan letter), Anne Tenino, Amy Lane, Silvia Violet, and more. Each of them was surprisingly nice, approachable, and super sweet. Then I find out that’s who they actually are in real life.

After I wrote my first book, Pitch (Will Parkinson), I wondered if I would ever hear from anyone that my book was at least decent. Michael Thompson wrote me a very moving letter about what Pitch meant to him. I’d never been moved so much as to find out that something I wrote touched another person.

Then came the Collars & Cuffs stories I wrote with KC Wells. Come to find out, people sent me messages saying they enjoyed them, too!

By and large, I think the singular greatest moment in an author’s life is when he or she hears from someone who read a book, and thought enough of it to send a mail or a message. It means that we’re actually doing something that’s important to someone. Even if all we do is make them laugh or cry, we did something.

The other day I got a mail from a blogger who said that their reviewer didn’t care for Corn Dogs. And you know what? That’s okay. I honestly don’t mind. I mean, sure, who doesn’t want someone to like their book? But what mattered most to me was that they were willing to try it.

So to everyone who has read one of my books and sent me an e-mail or Facebook message about it – whether you liked it or not – I want to say thank you for reading it. Thank you for giving me a chance to entertain you. And thank you for being part of my world.