You Never Know the Impact…

You didn’t miss a post yesterday—I never got to doing any writing. It was one of those weird, discombobulated days. I headed off to soccer too early, then returned home to cool my heels for an hour before going. (Fun game, I had a goal, we won, but just only barely, playing against folks we normally play with.) Then Steve and Carolyn from the soccer team went and got married at Phoenix’s Japanese Friendship Garden, which is gorgeous. I will be going back there. The reception was a bunch of fun. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and headed off to bed without ever blogging.

Life, sometimes, gets in the way. But, then again, the garden was great and will show up in a story, I’m sure.

Today I got another chapter done. Tying up loose ends, sowing seeds for more stories. Great fun. The writing came easily, despite distractions (more on that in future posts).

In going through mail from my post office box, I had a very nice note from someone requesting I sign a book for the holidays. This wasn’t the first of this kind of letter I’ve gotten. More than once I’ve had a child or a parent write and say that they, in essence, never liked reading until they found my books. Now, because of a wonderful reading experience, they like reading, and they’re reading bunches of stuff. I pretty much get credited with introducing them to the world of reading.

When you think about it, the average American reads one book a year. That’s not a slam on Americans; it’s more a curse of having so much in the way of entertainment to choose from. The fact that authors and publishers have been slow to understand that we’re in the entertainment business contributes to this. Add to that the fact that books are not touted based on any merit, but are peddled in genre categories which make books that cross genres a tough sell. The books that break out never are supposed to—Harry Potter was a kid’s book and never supposed to rival Tom Clancy, John Grisham or Stephen King.

Reading opens up so much more of the world—of worlds really. You can learn facts. You can learn insights. You can benefit from the experience of others. You can be transported to worlds that all but defy imagination. You can thrill to the adventures of people who actually lived, or live only in the imaginations of authors. Because of reading, because of books, no matter where you are, you can be someplace else, some time else, and getting to be a better person for the journey.

When I started writing, I always hoped folks would tell me they enjoyed what I wrote. I never figured my work would be a portal to reading. That it has been is one of those added pleasures about this job. It is an honor to share reading with others. And, with any luck, I’ll be able to do that more and more.

And if you have an author who was your portal, you can mention it in comments. But, if you do, include the book that was the portal, so someone else can benefit from your experience. The joy you discovered can be a discovery for them, too.