Heartfelt

Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to another fine Monday. I hope you had a good weekend, because I certainly did.

I got my first check from Amazon.

It was not a huge check.

I cannot suddenly retire to an Italian villa overlooking the Mediterranean, or anything, but it has provided me with an eerie sense of validation.

When I opened the envelope, I had this Sally Fields-like moment: "They like me! They really, really like me!"

Of course, being the soul of dignity, I did not tear up or anything like that.

And I know that I should not need the sales of my stories to validate myself as a person or a writer, but as I’m being very honest here, I have to admit that it helps. I’ve never been particularly insecure about my writing, not until my most recent project, but it’s gratifying that complete strangers find my work interesting enough to purchase. It gives one a nice little ego boost.

So I want to take this opportunity to say "Thank you!" to everyone who has downloaded my stories. You’ve pretty much made me feel like a real writer.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I have something in my eye. . . .