I got the most wonderful message from a 20-year-old woman on MySpace last night. It knocked me over. I spend so much time locked up in my office writing that it's easy to forget that people actually READ this stuff. It always feels great when someone tells me they've enjoyed my work. But I've never received anything like the note below, regarding Anya and Shideh, two characters from my novel LIVE GIRLS ...

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As you can see my first name is Anya but what you can't see is that my middle name also came from your book, Live Girls. In 1987 my mother, though she got the spelling a little wrong, named me Anya Shideah after the two main characters in your 1987 novel. She also named my sister Akasha Makare (spelling a little different here as well) after Anne Rice's main character in her book, Queen of the Damned. I just wanted to thank you for such interesting name choices as I get complimented all the time on how beautiful and exotic my name is. We FINALLY found a copy of Live Girls for me to read as we have been looking for YEARS now! I can't wait to dive in and find what grabbed my mom's attention enough to name me after your characters. I just thought you would like to know how you really have affected people's lives, especially mine, with your writings and thanks again!
~AnyA~

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Blew me away.

Wow, that's about as cool a tribute as you could ask for, Ray.

I plan on naming my first son Drabs Bibbler in honor of Tom Piccirilli.

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"There's no law, no law anymore - I wanna steal from the rich and give to the poor."
~The Ramones~

Man, that is one cool case of first contact.

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Macabre Ink
http://www.macabreink.com

Wow! It's like you're their Daddy! In a way, you created part of them.

Tt

Very cool Ray!

My mom named me after a character in a book she was reading while pregnant with me. I wish I knew what book it was, but have no clue.

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Reading:

The Spartacus War - Barry Strauss
Slow Death - Jim Fielder
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon

It's moments like these that make writing worthwhile. Sure, it's a lonely job and it can be the source of many headaches. But when something like this happens, you can't help but feel proud of what you do. Way to go!

Cheers,
Alan

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For the latest information on my horror novel, Bitternest, visit www.alandraven.com and MySpace at www.myspace.com/alandraven

Just don't get stuck paying child support, Ray. We need all your creative energy in the writing.

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"There's no law, no law anymore - I wanna steal from the rich and give to the poor."
~The Ramones~