
Book of Love wallpaper from http://hqwallbase.com/
I say that easily more often than anything else I say. Anyone who has commented on my stories a few times has probably read it in my replies at least once. A lot of first time commenters get that reply when they don’t say much in their comment. On the surface, it seems like I’m simply thanking you for reading my story, and I’m really not. My quote, slogan, whatever you’d like to call it – it’s really my signature in a way – is very deeply personal for me, and I thought I’d just take a few moments to share why.
The most important part of my little show of appreciation is the little bit of extra punctuation at the end: the ♥ It’s an expression of the constant love I have for you as a reader and I sincerely mean that. But before I get to that, let me explain the two things that are not there.
Missing from that phrase is the word “fiction.” That’s because it’s not fiction I’m thanking you for reading. It doesn’t matter whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose. Readers make the world go around. You give life to a story when you embrace it. You bring beauty to poetry when you appreciate it. You bring meaning to history when you share it. And you validate education when you learn it. The world of the written word is literally kept alive by your devotion.
Also missing from that phrase is the word “me.” That’s because I’m not thanking you for reading Anne Schilde. If I were the world’s only writer, it would be a lonely endeavor indeed. My stories would blanch and wither with no others to stand among, the way the human spirit blanches and withers when it has no friends. It doesn’t matter who your favorite author is, or whether or not I’ve read them. I’m blessed by them the same. It doesn’t matter how many books you’ve read or whether one of them was mine. I’m blessed by you the same.
Fiction is an amazing gift. I do love it with a passion, and I do love writing it. I don’t know where it comes from, or how. It just comes. It sparks the imagination and inspires the mind to believe in things that don’t exist, in the impossible, in the fantastical. In that belief, an impetus is born that becomes a man walking on the moon, or a real hope for world peace. But for me, it goes deeper than that. You have done more than give life to the stories I love. You have given me my life itself, and for that, I will eternally be enamored with the thirst that brings you by here from time to time to quench it.
Thanks always for reading! ♥
~ Annie
Beautifully written!
Thanks always for reading! ♥
I loved this, and I guess that means in a way…I love you, too!
Yay!!
No need to thank me Annie. It is and always has been a genuine pleasure to read your works. I like the thought of our works standing together. I wonder what Enrique and Kate would make of each other.
Haha, there’s a culture shock! And you, my scientist friend, have given me as much life as anyone! ♥
As though I needed another reason to love you completely.
Oh, I sure hope you need one or two more! I’m on chapter 7 of AVGS now… really curious what you think of that.
My stories and characters mean a lot to me. I’ve had a fair number of bad experiences with “real world” people. I can’t say I’m completely open in my writing, but I feel I’m more honest there than I’m able to be in real life a lot of the time.
Thanks for visiting The Diary of Debauchery.
Honesty in the form of fiction sometimes makes “real world” people very uncomfortable.
Hi Annie, are you still around? Because neither am I. And I miss us being not around.
I haven’t written anything in a while, but I get notifications. I’ll be back… just not sure when. I miss us too!
Happy Post-Christmas Whatnot! This isn’t a promise to be back, just a small flail making tiny ripples in a tiny puddle. And I still miss you ❤
Ripples are beautiful things that never come back until they’ve gone on forever and touched everything in their path.
❤ I miss you.
– Ermisenda
❤ And I miss you!
psst… it’s been a while. The keyboard is calling.
🙂 My keyboard sounds like Marian calling.