I wrote to him. Some stupid little letter full of pre-teen slang and nonsense. Just telling him how much I loved his books. The dude wrote me back. A handwritten note. Personally thanked me for reading and encouraged me to work hard at learning and educating myself.
-
-
Show this thread
-
20 years passed. I grew up and became a therapist, then an author myself. I passed one of his books in a shop and remembered that letter, and decided to write to him again to say thanks for encouraging me, and by the way, I’m an author now too partly because you encouraged me.
Show this thread -
Hunted down a contact email and wrote him a thank you letter. Figured his agent would intercept and I’d never hear back. Dude wrote back within 48 hours.
Show this thread -
Thanked me for reading his books. Praised me for following through with my goals. Said he was proud to inspire the next generation of storytellers. Both times, the man took the time to write back himself, and promptly. Treated a punk kid and a fledgling colleague with respect.
Show this thread -
I remember that every time I see his books on sale. Now they’re on my shelf. And guess what my kids will be reading. All you folks running businesses: You’re not marketing a product, you’re marketing YOURSELF. YOU are your OWN BRAND. How you treat customers is gravely important.
Show this thread -
Twenty years apart and he surprised me both times with a personal touch and kind respect. I will never forget his example as long as I live. If you aren’t cultivating yourself as your own brand, you’re tearing down all the hard work you put into your products and marketing.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
My first English teacher encouraged me to read ADF, we had a lot of his books in my school's library. An amazing writer, his Spellsinger books far and away my favourite. Great to hear he's a decent bloke!
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully in 20 years my life will be vastly better because of this message and I can hunt you down to let you know and thank you

-
I look forward to it. Keep fighting the good fight. :)
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
This Tweet is unavailable.
- End of conversation
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.