I know fellow book-lovers out there will understand what I mean when I say that favourite authors can become like gods to us, and that we can put them up on pedestals, elevated high above us ordinary human-folk. And when we reach out to tell them how much their words have touched us, how much their prose has changed our lives, we are shocked and quite excited when they respond, amazed that they deemed us worthy to reply to.

But honestly, authors are humans too. It was more unusual to get a reply years ago, when snail mail was the norm, because as most authors know, finding writing time can be tough as it is, but handwriting and sending replies to fanmail would eat into that time too much. These days, when you can reply in 140 characters on Twitter, or reply to a Facebook post or a short email quite quickly, the likelihood of getting a response has increased dramatically.

I remember writing to one of my favourite authors as a teenager, in the earlyish days of email, and was very excited to get a reply, even though the reply consisted of a single line. It felt like I had connected, though briefly, with a mythical creature that a mere mortal like me shouldn’t have been allowed to. In recent times, I have connected with several authors on Twitter, and have ended up having conversations with some of them, who have turned out to be genuinely awesome people.

Back in January I received a message on Goodreads from a fellow book-lover and book reviewer, asking for a copy of The Elphite, because she was keen to review it. I responded quite quickly and soon sent a copy of the book. The review she has written will soon be posted, along with an interview, and the brand new cover of The Elphite! She said that she was surprised and extremely excited that I had responded to her request, and sent her the copy, because after all, I was an author, and to get a response from such a mythical, magical creature was unexpected but exciting.

I’ve said it before, but I will repeat it here – I am just a human. I’m not even an incarnated Faerie or a Starperson. Just a mere mortal. And I love hearing from my readers and from potential readers. It is what keeps me writing, keeps me connecting, keeps me creating. So reach out, send messages, all are appreciated and cherished and often printed and stuck on my walls, to motivate me to publish more books.

Sending love out to everyone who has ever sent me messages, you are all amazing. xx