Up until then I'd never met or corresponded with a real life author. I don't want to embarrass the said author, so I'll call him RA. One of RA's books was short listed as a Richard & Judy book choice a few years ago. On the strength of that I bought the book, one of many I bought back then, but never got round to reading.
Then one day, having finished something else I picked it up, started reading it, and was immediately captivated. I finished it in a couple of days, and found it one of the best novels I'd read in a long time. I was that impressed I felt compelled to email RA to tell him how much I'd enjoyed the book. It was the first time I'd ever contacted an author direct.
To my amazement within a an hour, RA emailed me back saying how thrilled he was to have such a nice review.At the end of my original email, I'd mentioned that I also wrote books. He offered to look at an extract for me, and then for the next couple of weeks, we corresponded frequently, talking about all sorts of things to do with books and writing. He was a real nice guy, and when I find out RA was doing a author event at a Waterstones close to me, I had to go.
After reading his book, I had to read other's he'd written, and eventually bought and read them all. I have to say they were all just as good as his Richard and Judy book. Since then I've bought and read all his subsequent books, and enjoyed every one of them.
Anyway, I was really excited to meet the guy. There were only about a dozen people at his author event, but he was a really good speaker, and offered loads of advice to aspiring authors like myself. When it was over, I went up to him, and got him to personally sign all of his books for me. He even offered to edit the first few chapters of my book 'An Eye for an Eye', while on a long train journey to Scotland. He helped improve this book no end.
Later I sent him a copy of the book 'An Eye for An Eye' which I'd had self published. He was the first person to read the whole book, and gave me a good review, which pointed out the good points, but also gave me hints of how to improve it.
Since then, I've contacted him infrequently, and he's always answered any questions without any bother. RA, you're a real gent, and if I ever make it in the cutthroat world of being a novelist, it will be due to people like you.
Then one day, having finished something else I picked it up, started reading it, and was immediately captivated. I finished it in a couple of days, and found it one of the best novels I'd read in a long time. I was that impressed I felt compelled to email RA to tell him how much I'd enjoyed the book. It was the first time I'd ever contacted an author direct.
To my amazement within a an hour, RA emailed me back saying how thrilled he was to have such a nice review.At the end of my original email, I'd mentioned that I also wrote books. He offered to look at an extract for me, and then for the next couple of weeks, we corresponded frequently, talking about all sorts of things to do with books and writing. He was a real nice guy, and when I find out RA was doing a author event at a Waterstones close to me, I had to go.
After reading his book, I had to read other's he'd written, and eventually bought and read them all. I have to say they were all just as good as his Richard and Judy book. Since then I've bought and read all his subsequent books, and enjoyed every one of them.
Anyway, I was really excited to meet the guy. There were only about a dozen people at his author event, but he was a really good speaker, and offered loads of advice to aspiring authors like myself. When it was over, I went up to him, and got him to personally sign all of his books for me. He even offered to edit the first few chapters of my book 'An Eye for an Eye', while on a long train journey to Scotland. He helped improve this book no end.
Later I sent him a copy of the book 'An Eye for An Eye' which I'd had self published. He was the first person to read the whole book, and gave me a good review, which pointed out the good points, but also gave me hints of how to improve it.
Since then, I've contacted him infrequently, and he's always answered any questions without any bother. RA, you're a real gent, and if I ever make it in the cutthroat world of being a novelist, it will be due to people like you.