You’ve Inspired Me

I just wanted to reach out and tell you how much you’ve inspired me. I started with Shiloh, but I’ve read most of your books by now, and still read the witch series every year at Halloween despite being nearly 30 years old. You are an incredible writer, and it’s because you inspired me that I started writing myself. I suppose I just wanted to say thank you, for writing amazing books that made me want to be a writer too. You’ve inspired more in my life than I could ever really thank you for. I hope that this message finds you well.

Thank  you so much for writing to me.  It’s my policy to delete names of those who write to me, but you will know who you are.  It’s exciting to know that you are starting to write also, and I wish you the best of luck!   So many people inspired me along the way–the writer who lived next door to me when I was in high school and saved old issues of The Writer Magazine  for me; the Sunday school teacher who remembered me from her class, and asked me, years later, if I would write a story for her story paper of which she was the editor, which led to many other opportunities to write; the high school speech teacher  who told me I was talented; the English teacher who both embarrassed and amazed me by giving me a minus (A-) on a poem I wrote because “it is very, very good, but I can’t quite believe you wrote it yourself”; the many editors who gave me advice along the way–some who published my books, some who didn’t  My husband, for reading each book manuscript before I sent it in, and offering praise as well as criticism; my authors’ critique group which hears each manuscript read aloud and offers criticism before I send it to an editor; and most of all, to my parents, simply because they read aloud to us each night–almost until I reached high school.  They read with such drama that this was the part of day I looked forward to the most–Mother laughing along with us at Toad’s motor car antics in The Wind and the Willows” or Dad’s reading Mark Twain’s books–being able to become the voice of Aunt Polly or Huck Finn–and making us really feel the story.  And also thanks to readers like you who take time to tell me that they enjoy my books.  Thank you so much!