Hi,

I don't know if you go by Albert or the less formal Al. Please let me know. I am Elizabeth and if frustrates me no end when no matter how many times I say, "please call me Elizabeth", people call me Liz. Just a miniscule nit in life.

It's quite extraordinary that you sent a friend request to me today. I had only downloaded a sample copy of "Beamish Boy" from B&N this morning. I thought I'd get a taste of your book when I can breathe again, and then, I fully intend to BUY it from Smashwords. I stumbled into Smash by accident last week. I want to be a part of many of the things that Smash is doing for readers and writers alike. Just the summary of "Beamish Boy" grabbed me.

I do not choose the books I read solely based on reviews. Actually, it's rare for me to choose a book that way. Books and book reading are sacred. I go by my own instincts and by friends' word of mouth recommendations 99% of the time. That said, I've been trying to find some review and book discussion sites other than the typical mainstream sites that spit out the typical cookie cutter reviews of books. About a week and a half ago I stumbled into redroom.com/books (awesome) for authors, writers, and readers.
I highly recommend it if you haven't come across it to date. I recommended "redroom" to my tried and true "book-nerd" pals and every one of them emailed me to say thank you, and that they'd never come across anything quite like it. Some of these folks being writers, editors, and reviewers themselves - Very cool. Very cool indeed!
I have a several good friend from H.S. days (class of 1979-NYC) including one who is an editor with Huff Post, another with an online publishing power house, and others whose books and short stories have been published recently. They are REAL. I don't want to "out" them so to speak right here and now out of respect for their privacy. If you're interested finding out more, email me, and I'm sure it would be okay for me to give you their names so that you could google what they've been up to. They've also had quite a number of their plays produced as well. If you're interested in possibly making some connections in NYC and CA, please don't hesitate to ask. One of my bud's books was just optioned by a movie studio. Other folks and friends too in the publishing and writing world - Again, don't hesitate to get in touch if you might want to network and make possibly make some connections. I am not a braggart. I'm sharing this with you because you're an "idie" author and sometimes it's nice to get a little help from friends - new and old alike.

What's wild about getting your friend request today on top of what I said above, is that my hubby Norm marked your book, "Letters To Early Street" as a to-read book on goodreads today and I didn't know that until you emailed me. Again, Very cool, indeed! Prior to getting your email, I'd added "Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln", Janis Cooke Newman, and "The New York Trilogy", Paul Aster, onto my B&N Wishlist. I was planning to mark them as to-read on goodreads this afternoon. Talk about six degrees of separation.

I will end this now. The karma of it all is almost "too" karmic.

I grew up smack dab in the middle of dysfunction. My drug of choice for 28 years was anorexia. I finally kicked the hell out of that demon by which I defined myself, in 2002. It rears it's ugly head every now and then, but I "choose" to feel and "own" the warning signs, and I ask for help before descending into that hell again. Having a 14 year old daughter who is quite naturally trying to figure out how to feel about her body changing, is all the motivation I need to remain sober.

I couldn't say it better than you did above, so I'm stealing your words. "So here I am, settled down, grateful to be alive and celebrating the extraordinary wonders of life! Some blue days, but they get farther and fewer between as each day goes by...

Totally bizarre writing to someone I don't now, but it makes sense somehow.

Thank you for taking note of my excitement about one of your books. I find that it's rare these days for folks to let others know the difference they make in our lives. I try to by letting a customer service rep for example, whose been especially upbeat and helpful know that they put a smile on my face, and/or I ask if I can speak to their manager to tell that manager how lucky he/she is to have "my" rep in their organization. Too many people complaining about what's wrong these days without owning and sharing ideas or actions to bring about positive change. You sir, do not seem to be one of those people.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of books you're into...

I wish you glorious success in your writing and health and happiness for you and your family.

Best,
Elizabeth