OUR FAITHFUL FANS
Being an author is hard work, but it's something that none of us can stop doing. Expecially with fans who touch us. Some fans become friends, some have been touched by our work. It's a special feeling to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us and your other favorite authors. You're the reason we keep doing writing.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING INTRIGUE READERS !
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My first novel won't be out until New Year's Eve, but like most authors, I LOVE to read, and I'm a fan of so many authors. I actually became a fan of one of my favorite authors before she was even published. I happened to take an online writing workshop with Allison Brennan maybe a year or so before her first book came out, and she posted a portion of what would be published as The Hunt. I loved it so much that I emailed her and asked her to let me know when it got published, because I wanted to read the whole thing. A year or two later, her first book came out and I've read every one since.
:) Best,
Elizabeth Heiter
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I not only appreciate my Intrigue readers, but many of them have become great friends. Since my first Intrigue, Deep in the Bayou, was released in 1994, I have met many of my readers personally and become on-line friends with far more. We have shared joyous occasions and sad moments, and more than a few times they have inspired me to keep writing.
One of my most memorable correspondence from a reader was a letter I received a few weeks after 9/11. Like many other Americans, I found it difficult to just go on with my life as usual after the tragedy. Then one wonderful reader wrote and shared her feelings with me. She explained how she’d cried all day and then that night had picked up one of my books. She’d become engrossed in the story and for a few hours she’d escaped into a world where goodness and love overcame evil. I cried when I read her letter and was thankful for the inspiration she gave me to get back to writing. I called her a few weeks later, when I could do so without crying. We had a wonderful phone visit.
Another reader named Ruth has become very special to me. Her grandson stopped by my first booksigning and bought a book for his grandmother. Ruth has bought every one of my books since that very first one. If she couldn’t find one, her grandson found it for her. At the time she lived in Chalmette, La, an area very hard hit by Katrina. Her grandson contacted me after that to say that she and her husband had literally lost everything in the hurricane. Because my books had meant so much to her, he was trying to buy as many of them as he could find. Needless to say, I sent her signed copies of every one I had or could track down. Ruth is an amazing woman and though I’ve never met her personally, I consider her a very special friend.
Happy Thanksgiving, Intrigue readers. And thanks for all the wonderful letters and emails through the years.
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My favorite fan story involves a reader whose daughter was in Security Forces school at an Air Force base. The daughter’s team was put on lock-down and to help pass the time she went into her mom’s iTunes account and read Risking Trust. She liked it so much that she told her friends and all five of them read my series. When the daughter graduated, she mentioned that she would not have made it through school without my books to keep her going.
As an author, to know I helped someone in such a way is a gift and it’s one I’ll always be thankful for.
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I while back I got a letter from a woman telling me that her mother had died. She wrote because her mother had enjoyed my Intrigues so much that they were burying one of my books with her.
I was so honored and so choked up by the experience. It really brought home what our books can mean to readers. I am so thankful that our books form such wonderful connections between writers and readers.
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The on-line friendships I've made with Brenda, Ellen, Kaylee, Laura and so many other Intrigue fans has been fantastic. I've had some really great fans write to me about each book and I appreciate each and every one.
Today, I'm especially thankful for my biggest and oldest fan...my daughter, Kourtney. Earlier this summer she had a cancer scare. It turned out to be "unique cells" which comes as no surprise knowing how unique of a person she is.
Kourtney wanted to read my books years ago...I printed PG versions just for her. But most recently, She was reading Protecting Their Child and gave me the best-feeling compliment. I'm paraphrasing...
"I needed to sleep, and no offense mom, but I started reading your book. I didn't think I'd relate to a pregnant heroine, so I thought I'd read just a little. I couldn't put it down and stayed up all night."
It's music to an author's ears to hear a reader say you kept them up at night. I never thought my daughter, who hears about my stories constantly and helps me work through what a young person would actually do... Well, it warms my heart to no end to hear those words from her.
I'm very grateful for Kourtney and thank God for her every day.
AGAIN, HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
Travel safely.
Enjoy the day.
Make memories.
And read a great book !
