Ultimately, I hope that people will enjoy each and every
story that I write. It is why I write them.
Well, today, I received the ultimate fan letter.
I have no idea who this person is. The package arrived by
air mail, and had a customs declaration via Great Britain.
Inside there were
two hard cover books. One is Love Letters
of the Great War. The other one is a blank diary/journal. There was
also a beautiful gold envelope, a brown rubber egg, and a gold pin of a B-17 airplane.
Diary of a Romance Fan was written on the front of the envelope.
To say I was intrigued by all that is an understatement, as
is to say I was sincerely touched when I opened the envelope and began to read.
11th of
November, 2018
Dear Diary,
I simply must write to
you about the most marvelous and perfect love story I have ever read! It’s
called Diary of a War Bride by Lauri Robinson…
The letter continues for three pages, where the writer says,
“I have read so many romance stories, but
Diary of a War Bride is a sparkling galaxy all on its own. Let me explain why.”
The letter continues about how much she
enjoyed the characters, Dale and Kathryn, and their story, and why, and what her
favorite ‘lovely special moments’ where, which all led to her falling head over
heals in love with the book. She states she can still see Dale and Kathryn,
years later, older, grayer, still holding hands, still teasing each other, and
still madly in love.
The final page of the letter says:
Today is Armistice
Day, dear Diary, and is a particularly significant one as it is the centenary of
the end of the first World War. I have my edition of First World War Poetry
beside me, and watched Vera Brittian’s Testament of Youth. But I also have an
assortment of what seems like odd items but aren’t once I explain.
An anthology of love
letters from soldiers of WW1 to their sweethearts.
A brand-new diary to
be filled with new adventures and journeys.
Dale and Katheryn’s
story was set in World War 2, where we saw the American B-17, so this little
plane is for remembrance.
And finally, Dale and Kathryn
were awfully clumsy around eggs. Really careless. So here’s one that won’t
break, even if Kathryn gets really cross and squeezes them into Dale’s hands
again. But he won’t mind. It’s what brought them together.
Yours truly,
Louise.
I was standing in the kitchen, a bit teary-eyed having just finished reading
the letter when my husband walked in.
Frowning, he asked, “What’s wrong? What’s
that?”
I held up the letter and stated it was the most beautiful
letter I’ve ever read.
It was.
Nothing in my writing career will every top the very special
package I received today. And nothing will ever motivate me to keep writing
like that little gold B-17 pin and that rubber egg.
