The other day I received an email from an English teacher in Brazil who loves cozy mysteries. She'd read some of the books in my Haunted Library series and asked if she could read a chapter of one of my books aloud on her podcast to encourage readers to read stories in English. I was thrilled with the idea, and after running it past my publisher for legal reasons, wrote back to tell her to go ahead.
I was at a library event for authors the other evening and stopped in the main reading area. They were featuring mystery series that take place in libraries. How nice it was to see one of my books was part of the display.
Hearing from a reader in South America, seeing my book as part of a library display have made me realize how far and wide our stories travel. Once a novel or a short story we've written is published it takes on a life of its own. We have no idea who is reading our work. I'm always delighted when readers let me how much they enjoy my books. Usually, readers contact me via email, my website, or social media. Once I was on the phone getting help with a problem I had with an appliance and happened to mention that I write novels. The woman told me she'd read one of my books years ago.
We write stories and send them out into the world. Though we get figures of how many copies are sold, this cannot tell the tale of how many hearts we have touched.
What interchange with a reader has made you realize that you've made a special human connection?
