Update Aug 1, 2012: The author of the email described below is also the author of the amazing book, Help Me Be a Good Girl Amen. I stayed up past 4am reading it. You can read a sample at the link.
One of the best things about being published is hearing from readers. The reviews for Muffin Man are all entertaining to read, even the the two-star reviewer who claimed it wasn’t as engaging as Russo’s Pulitzer-prize-winning Empire Falls (in my dreams!) and who ended the review with:
I going out to eat a donut now. bye
Which I took indicate that the muffin may have had a greater impact on him/her than he/she thought.
And nothing tops the review from IZONPRIZE that opens with:
Brad Whittington had me dedicated to the final page, from Day 1 like a momma chimpanzee looking for fleas on her only child.
But a recent email has the most unusual story associated with reading my books that I’ve received to date.
Here’s an excerpt.
My eyesight is pretty bad, since I am now 86, so my daughter bought me a Kindle and I get to read anything that she has loaded in. I am REALLY enjoying the Fred stories.
I appreciate your rich vocabulary, which you use so extravagantly. I suspect a lot of folks don’t know what treasures you draw from.
I was getting such a kick out of your story this afternoon that I forgot I had put five eggs on to boil, and didn’t remember them till they started exploding. After the third shot-egg blast I got up and found egg parts all over the kitchen, and a horrible stink besides.
But — so — on with the book. Thanks so much for writing the way you do.
If I wasn’t already driven to write incessantly, emails like this one would do the trick.
Keep those cards and letters coming.
Great story.