Remarkable though it may seem, there are some golden people still out there. 

     I recently wrote wrote a combination fanmail inquiry letter to Dean Koontz, author of more than 75 books published in 32 languages totaling over 250 million copies sold in the last 35 years (reported in a five year-old article, no less, from The WRITER magazine www.writermag.com). 

     He’s one of only a dozen writers with ten #1 New York Times bestsellers. Does this sound like someone who’s about to respond to any of the thousands of letters he reportedly gets every few months? Why even bother, right? Wrong.

     In two weeks time, he sent back a thoughtful and personal two-page response, which included a personal handwritten closing P.S. paragraph, a seven-page article and four-page folder that specifically addressed questions I had posed about finding a literary agent and some other points. 

     Mr. Koontz even included a twelve-page newsletter featuring golden retriever talk because—having just finished reading his latest novel, The Darkest Evening of the Year dedicated to his recent doggie-heaven-bound golden, Trixie, and which includes a heavy story focus on rescued golden retreivers and —I mentioned sharing his love and enthusiasm for the breed. [My golden, Barnegat Girl, now ten, is under my desk as I write this, smiling happy dreams and keeping my feet warm.] 

     The point is that Mr. Koontz reached out when he didn’t have to, and he reached farther than good sensible public relations might dictate. He actually showed interest in my pursuits and quite literally made my day a golden one! 

     Thank you, Dean Koontz.  Applause!  Applause!                      halalpiar