I have to admit, there are a lot of difficult things about making your living as an author (like the sporadic pay, long, solitary hours, less-than-stellar reviews, etc.). But thankfully, all of these are mostly offset by all the incredible bonuses this career has to offer (dictating your own hours, creating work you love and are proud of, better-than-stellar reviews, etc.).

But probably one of my absolute favourite things about being an author is getting mail from readers. Knowing that one of my books has moved or inspired someone to the point where they've made the effort to get in touch is definitely made of awesome.

Last week, I got a nice big package of fan mail from a book club near Ottawa called 'Tween the Lines' who'd read LURE as their fall book pick. The kids sent me some great letters, questions and artwork and my own children and I sat together on the couch, opened the package and poured through all of it. At ages 9 and 6, my kids are book-lovers too and watching their little faces light up as we looked over the fan mail was incredible — seeing how proud they were of their mom and watching the spark of inspiration in their eyes. Yeah, it sure makes all the hard parts of this job worthwhile.

No — thank you, dear readers! Please keep those wonderful letters coming!