For a writer, giving away books is sort of like the government sending out stimulus checks, we do it to be nice, sure. But we also do it to stimulate interest in our career, in other words, to build a reader base. The question is--Does it work? I've often wondered.

My oldest daughter just finished wearing braces. Those of you who have had kids with braces know that that means we've spent a lot of time in the orthodontist's office. Our orthodontist is fantastic, as is his staff. In appreciation, I've occasionally given them a signed copy of one of my books to pass around. Today, I took my daughter in for her final real checkup (her teeth are so pretty!) and one of the technicians who was with another patient, stopped me. She said that she and another one of the staff were on vacation in Destin, Florida and she needed something to read, so she stopped by Wal-Mart. She'd read Promise Me Always when I gave it to them, so she was thrilled to find my newest book, Along Came a Cowboy! She bought it! And couldn't put it down. (That last was an added bonus.) She passed it on to one of her friends who work in the orthodontist's office, too. And she loved it too. Today they were asking me where they could get my other books.

As a writer, it's hard for me to give my books away. Not because I'm stingy, but because I feel embarrassed that I might be pushing my books on someone who hates not to take them, but doesn't really want them. Because of this, I do it sparingly. But it's oh-so-cool to see it turn out well. :)

Made my day, actually! And speaking of making my day. . .thank you all so much for the kind comments you've left here and in my guestbook about Along Came a Cowboy. Knowing you enjoyed reading it gives me the push I need to get through the deadline I'm currently working on. :) Thanks. (As soon as I finish this deadline, I hope to answer all of you, personally!)