When even the "non-readers" love it...

I got a text from my friend Nicole a little while ago and it made me so happy because Nicole likes to read, but she doesn't always finish what she starts... and she's currently reading Running Through the Words, which is massive. She's over halfway through too! I'm so proud of her!

I love it when readers love my characters, and Nicole and I had an entire back and forth about my characters in Running. She loves all of them, but has a real soft spot for Lucy. And do you know why I especially love this? Because I've heard so many other readers comment on the fact that Lucy is very vanilla. But she's not! Lucy is such a strong, confident, self-assured person who knows what she wants her life to contain. She balances Sebastian with her stability; in a way, they're foils. And Bert balances Bas with his goofiness; they're foils too.

Speaking of people named Nicole...

There's a book blogger on Instagram whom I enjoy so much. Her name is Nikki and she's so far read Just Whistle and Running Through the Words. She writes really kind reviews for all my stuff and is going to listen to Like A Flip Turn next. Hopefully she likes that too!

Anyway, Nikki and I were corresponding a little while ago and she said, "I was so excited to see the timeline at the end of Running Through the Words because more books are coming! I can't wait to read them!" It just makes me so happy, you know? It makes me so happy to finally have a little following of readers who love my characters and look forward to spending more time with them. This is why I write.

Well... for that reason and because I can't imagine not writing. It's just something I have to do.