You write books because you hope they’ll be read.

Sometimes they are, sometimes not so much.

The ones on any author’s backlist generally just kind of fade away. Eventually, all but a lucky few, move to being out of print.

So, what a delightful surprise it is when someone tells you how much they enjoyed reading this or that book that you wrote a long time ago. This has happened to me a few times lately.

On Saturday, while at Carrefour Atlantic Emporium and the Puffin Gallery, the owner of the shop (Michel Levasseur) took the time to tell me how much he liked “Thomas, A Secret Life”. We then talked about that book and its central character (Thomas Pichon) for a while. It was great to hear that book had made such an impact. I shared that I am about 2/3 through writing the fourth and final book in the series.

Then on Sunday, I received an email from a gentleman I’ve never met who lives in Quebec City. He wanted me to know how much he admired two of my books — the one on religion at Louisbourg and the one about the 1758 siege — both of which he had read in their French translations. This again was a kind and generous act on his part, to let me know how much he enjoyed reading a couple of my books.

If anyone who reads this feel the same way about some book that they’ve read, by any author still living today, I suggest you let them know. It will likely make their day.