I’ve Got Mail

Fan mail that is…

Paranoid about spam, I clicked on an email I didn’t recognize. The name was Ali. I do not know an Ali. Turns out it was not spam at all. It was a forward from my WordPress contact page. And it was fan mail!

I got FAN MAIL.

Here’s what she said:

Hi Angie…. Ms. Counios…. (insert preferred way to be greeted by a total stranger)!

We met briefly just a week ago at the local Bookwyrm event and I picked up a copy of “My List, My Rules.” I’ve just finished the final pages and I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure I found it to read. I truly enjoyed your candor, humour, and sincerity in revealing so much of yourself in a published work. I used to be a teacher (changed careers) and am so happy to see an educator using their creative spark to put themselves out there to inspire others (other than the hoards of kids you’ve no doubt influenced and reached in some way on the daily). I hope you and your book both find success and celebration as you deserve it and I wish you all the best in everything you continue to tackle. I’ll be keeping ny eyes out for more from you and hope to see you again sometime at a local event. Take care and keep on living it up!

– Ali

I’ve said it before: friends and family are incredibly supportive and raise me up. When I connect with strangers through the books I write, I often feel like it’s a one-off, and I hope that when they get to the last page they love it. Take a moment to appreciate the end of it. Maybe pass it on to a friend. That’s my best-case scenario.

But when a stranger appreciates that I sat at my computer and tapped a bunch of keys to make a story—and then they sit at their computer and reciprocate their gratitude, returning the keyboard taps to share their thoughts—I am absolutely touched.

It’s like a big circle of gratitude.

Thank you to Ali for sending an email she didn’t have to.

And, as always, thank you for reading, Lovelies.