Kat Martin: The people who read your books are what make the hard work and pain of writing them worthwhile. I get dozens of e-mails from fans, my favorite of which are usually from foreign countries: the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Russia, Germany, Australia and a few places I've never heard of. Recently, I got three e-mails from people involved in the tragedy of September 11. The first lived in the block near the towers and told me how frightened she was. The second was on the 52nd floor and told me how she barely got out alive, how she would never forget the faces of the fireman she passed on the stairs who were on their way up when she was going down. The third was from the husband of a woman who was killed. He said that she loved my books and since I had answered a recent e-mail from her, he thought that I would want to know that she had been killed. I had to wait three days before I could find the words to answer that grieving husband.
Nora Roberts: I love their enthusiasm, and their loyalty. I have close contact with a number of readers on line, and have met many of them in real life while on tour or at signing events. The signings on tour, when I can meet and interact with the readers are the best part of touring. And watching them interact with each other, watching friendships blossom between them is wonderful.
One of the most touching for me, was meeting two women at a signing in Texas. The younger woman had been functionally illiterate, had never read a book. When the older woman discovered this, she took it on herself to help her friend learn to read. She'd started her with one of my Silhouette Romances. When they came to see me, the girl brought the book to have it signed - the first book she'd ever read. It had taken her a couple of months to read that 55,000 words, but since she'd read several more books. She'd become a reader, and told me it was like having the world open up for her.
We all cried. Whenever I hear or read something that dismisses the genre, I think of those two women, their bond, and the fact that a simple category Romance novel opened up the world for someone.
Jacquie D'Alessandro: I love that romance fans are so enthusiastic! I receive really lovely letters and e-mails from people (who aren't even related to me!) and it just makes my day. I think one of the nicest letters I received was from a woman who wrote two weeks after September 11th. She told me that she couldn't watch the news anymore-she was depressed and crying. Then she read one of my books-a contemporary romantic comedy. She wrote to thank me for making her laugh and for letting her put her troubles aside for a little while. Her letter actually made me cry-like so many people, I'd been feeling so helpless, searching for some way to feel useful after our tragedy, and this woman took the time to let me know that I'd made her feel better. And that made me feel very, very good.
My favorite booksigning memory-there I was, sitting in the mall in front of Waldenbooks. Because it was close to Halloween, I wore this bright orange sweater. Across the walkway was this group of ten men, standing around, chatting. One of them looked at me and asked if I was a Tennessee fan. I had no idea if I was or not, but I waved him and his friends over, assuring them I didn't bite. Turns out they were all from Tennessee, in Atlanta for some college football game (can you tell I don't know much about college football?), and the color for their Tennessee team was the same bright orange as my shirt. They'd come to the mall before the game with their wives who were off shopping. When I told them I was a romance writer and didn't know squat about college football, they all started talking at once, and probably if I could have separated what one said from the other I would have gotten quite an education about the sport. I told them smart men read romance (a few of them snickered-that ole' stigma raising its head). Then I told them even smarter men bought romances for their wives. Well, turns out this was one smart group indeed because they each bought a copy of my book for their wives. One by one, I am determined to turn naysayers into romance believers!
Glenna McReynolds: Readers are half the party. I can't do this on my own. I can write the book, but until it's read, it's only half done. Readers send me things - gifts, drawings, especially of Llynya, oddly cool stuff that relates to the books, especially the medieval fantasy trilogy, macrame with "brambled" twigs, pictures of a house someone made for Llynya, photos they took in England and Wales, rocks they brought back from Penzance - and that's a remarkable connection to make with people, remarkable. It makes us all very human, when I can throw my imagination out on the wind and have people flow back to me through it.
Donna Kauffman: I've been very fortunate to have developed a fan base that is hugely supportive and enthusiastic about my work and romance fiction in general. They come from all walks of life, are both men and women, and bring with them all sorts of perspectives about what makes a romance novel entertaining for them. I've had many touching emails and letters relating how one of my novels helped a reader to take a break during a particularly difficult time in his or her life, and those letters mean a great deal to me. I think one of the more intriguing emails I received lately was from a woman who read my first single title, The Legend MacKinnon, who had the same last name as the lead characters, and ended up discussing the book, and that fact, on a chat site -- and through this bulletin board ended up connecting with two long lost relatives! They each wrote me, thanking me for bringing them together, much like the long lost cousins in the book itself - each of these women had picked up the book because of the name MacKinnon, each one identifying with the cousins in the story as they had been searching for each other for years. And then, voila! It happened for them, too as a direct result of them each picking up my book. Very cool. Glad I didn't go with my original title, The Legend MacLaren. :)
Sherri Browning: The number of male fans always surprises me. I didn't expect many men were reading romance, but I've actually had a number of men sign up for my mailing list. I saved a letter from a male fan who wrote to me after the publication of my first book, The Scoundrel's Vow. He wrote about how the book touched him and actually made him cry, and what a lucky man my husband is to be married to me. Every now and then, I pull that one out and put it where my
husband might find it and be reminded .
Susan Wiggs: I absolutely love their willingness to share bits of themselves with me in their letters. I've heard such heartwarming details of their lives, loves, joys and even sorrows, and I think it's very brave for a person to share some of this with a stranger. One memorable encounter - I'd heard from a rare male reader via the Internet a few times; he was a big fan of my historical and swashbuckling books. All I knew was his name (not a terribly unique name) and that he was a pilot for America West Airlines. Then one day, I was on an America West flight, and during the announcements from the cockpit, I recognized his name! So I had a flight attendant send one of my business cards forward, and at the end of the flight, we met face to face. I gave him a copy of my latest book for his girlfriend. Small world!
Amanda Scott: Oh, wow, there are so many stories. I have fans that show up regularly at every book signing, people I've met so often they seem like family now, but the real standouts are the ones who have written to thank me because a particular book hit home or my books, in general, got them through a particularly bad patch in life. The first one I remember that really hit me hard came after Dangerous Illusions came out. The book has a subplot about a battered woman, and this fan wrote to tell me how much she had enjoyed the story, then went on to compliment me on the way I had handled the subplot. She said, in various ways, that it was clear I knew a lot about the subject. She signed the letter with her name, followed by "a victim." And the most recent one came from a fan whose son was in a terrible auto accident some months ago. He was in a coma for a week, survived, but faced months of reconstruction and therapy. She had never written me before but had read all my books and kept them. She said she just got them all out, put them in stacks, started at the beginning, and read every one of them again, the first few aloud to him while she sat at his bedside, waiting for him to wake up. He probably would have preferred Tom Clancy, but her letter sure made my day.
Sharon Robinson: Romance fans are loyal. They devour a good book and wait impatiently for the next one. My most memorable encounter is with my twenty-three year old son. I sent him a copy of Still the Storm with little hope that he'd read it. I was traveling in New Mexico and got a call from him on my cell phone. He had just read chapter one. "Mom!" he laughed. "I just read chapter one. Mom, you're a real romance writer!" You must understand that my son reads very little for the pleasure of it. He's become my biggest fan.
Brenda Joyce: My most memorable encounter was a "fan" who got on my website to trash me as a writer! She really was verbal about how she didn't want to waste her money on my books, that I've gone downhill, that she hated my new direction. She also made some really rude uncalled for remarks about my personal life clearly affecting my work! Like-how would she know one thing about me? I was incredibly upset, worse, stupidly, I was hurt! (Yes, guys, we do have feelings, too.) I was also angry - it was my website, which has cost me a fortune - how dare she? Then I decided this was a democracy! Anyone could trash me on my site if they wished. After all, controversy and debate are good! Then so many fans rallied to my defense - it was wonderful - it made me cry. And I also, very nicely, sweetly and charitably, recommended she buy several other authors. I didn't express any of my true feelings, but consciously took the "high road." And guess what? She apologized! She said something about how nice I was, and she was sorry, and then my fans began talking about how polite and charitable I had been, and it all ended really well.
Lauren Bach: I love that my fans take a moment from their busy lives to write and tell me they liked my book. Or that they can't wait for my next one. I am humbled by every fan I meet, and grateful for every letter I read. Where would I be without readers?
My most memorable encounter with a reader was at booksigning. A lady said she didn't think "Lauren" was my real name because I listed all my sisters and brothers in the dedication of my first book and all their names started with the letter "K." Then she quickly apologized and said maybe I was adopted.
Madeline Hunter: Fans are the best part of this business. It is just wonderful when a fan writes and her reactions to the story indicate that she read the book I thought that I wrote, and "got" all the good stuff I thought I put in. I am also especially touched when I hear from readers who had given up reading because of their hectic lives. They will describe how they picked up one of my books, and enjoyed it enough that they have begun reading on a regular basis again. Of those letters, one of my favorites came from a reader's husband. His wife had little time for herself because of five children and a full-time job. She became a fan, and every time one of my books is published he takes over the household work for her so that she can have some private time. He wrote to say thank you, and to mention how pleased he is that the children see their mother reading.
Betina Krahn: There is a dear woman in Philly who, at a very low point in my life and career, brought me a stuffed miniature schnauzer to a signing and sort of rescued my heart. Whenever I need a jolt of optimism, I look at the beastie on my shelf and think of her.
Elizabeth Thornton: At my last book launch, one of the audience came up to me with half a dozen of my titles. They weren't for her, she said, but for a friend, one of my avid fans in Texas (I live in Canada), who wanted me to personalize all my books for her. There was a reporter there from the local rag, so this incident was carried in the papers. What a humbling experience for me.
I've had lots of humbling e-mails and letters from readers. They identity with my heroines. I should tell you that I write the same story over and over: the heroine has to overcome obstacles to reach her full potential. Sometimes I think I'm Oprah reincarnated. The women who write to me have often hit rock bottom. They see hope for women like them in my heroines, a second chance and a third chance.
Of course, I get plenty of letters that point out all the mistakes I've made in historical detail! So much for research! There's always some reader who knows more than you do.
Sue-Ellen Welfonder: That they took the time to write and let me know they enjoyed my book. I have a growing mailing list and these readers, especially, are very dear to me. That they care about my characters and the faith they've shown in my writing by joining my mailing list, is more heartening than I can say. I've had quite a few memorable encounters with them and it's hard to single out just one. Maybe how they share bits and pieces of their lives with me. One often sends me beautiful handmade cards. One went out of her way to introduce me to John DeSalvo at the RT Convention in Orlando - this reader is a personal friend of his and thanks to her, I have lovely photos of him on my website. One is currently facing difficult health problems, while another recently learned she is pregant after years of trying. I sent cards, the real kind, to both of them, and their appreciation of that amazed me and definitely touched my heart. I could speak warmly of these readers all day long and then some.
Shana Abe: Honest to God, I love it when fans write fan letters, even little short ones. I am always floored when someone has loved my work so much she (or he) takes the time and the trouble to write and tell me so. People are usually so busy; I figure the story must have truly touched them if they interrupt their day to send me a line. That's fabulous.
