Samhain Publishing

Once upon a time, when I was still in college, I met a boy. Well, he went to a different college than I did – we met at a summer party by a bonfire, and that was that. I know what you’re thinking, but no, we never dated. Instead, we began this very odd and interesting friendship based completely on letters. Interestingly enough, we’ve shared our lives with each other for the last twenty years almost entirely on paper.

We’ve never lived in the same city, let alone the same state. We’ve led very different lives, filled with other relationships and other people. Yet after all this time, we’re still writing letters to each other. Strange? Yes. He’s been married and divorced. I’ve been married for almost nine years. We’ve gotten together for a couple of meals in the last two decades, but other than that, our relationship is strictly long-distance and strictly Platonic.

He pursued a career in the insurance industry, and I ended up in education. In many respects, we have absolutely nothing in common. We don’t listen to the same kind of music or enjoy the same kinds of leisure activities. We read different authors. We follow different sports teams. I love to travel. He loves his hometown. And yet there has always been a connection between us – maybe simply because we both love to read and write.

A couple of years ago, we abandoned the letter-writing and instead emailed and chatted on Facebook. Sure, it was nice to talk in real time. Nice to have almost-instant responses. Know what? It wasn’t the same. Something was missing – maybe the excitement of opening a mailbox and seeing a hand-addressed letter. Or maybe holding pages in your hand and reading words in the script of someone you’ve known for a long time.

Whatever the reason, a few months ago we decided to return to writing letters. Yes, it’s old fashioned. Yes, it means we only get to hear about the other person’s life every few weeks or so. Sometimes even months pass without a letter being exchanged – life gets in the way, you know. But there is something powerful about the wonderful reality of letters. Holding a letter – or a book! – in your hand, turning the pages and savoring black ink on white paper…there’s something magical about that experience.

And so I dedicated my latest release, Summer’s Song, to my long-distance friend. In fact, the hero is named and modeled after him, because after all this time, he deserves to be immortalized in print. This one’s for you, Damon. Happy writing.