A soldier freshly back from Afghanistan wrote me this message on Facebook. I've edited it only to keep his personal information private.

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Hey. I feel bad for taking so long to have said this, but I tend to procrastinate. I just saw the post for your new book in the Lords of Syon saga is coming out, and it made me think to send this. First off, I am ecstatic about Guardian Last coming out so soon. Secondly, I read Sword of Hemlock while I was deployed to the lovely country of Afghanistan.... It was amazing. I was entranced from the first page and left wanting more at the last. I am no writer, but I can imagine that publishing your first novel is no easy task, and for that I congratulate you. I await with great anticipation the release of the next book in the saga, and all that follow.

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This message made me super happy. At one of my book signings, a woman who served with the Coast Guard said something similar. She had some horror stories to tell about serving aboard the ship for so many months surrounded by men and the lack of privacy. My book let her escape with Renda and Gikka, and she sympathized with Renda's feelings of unease at returning from that experience.

It's not often an author gets such wonderful feedback on how her work makes life a little better for someone, especially with such a dark work of fiction. All I can say to these soldiers and sailors is, thank you, and I'm glad my work helped keep up your morale.