A special TBT... below are two photos of a friend of mine, Alfred E. Betts of Bridgwater, Somerset, in the UK. Weve never met but weve had a correspondence going on for a number of years, beginning with a fan letter he wrote to me concerning my novel, RESURRECTION DAY. Alf didnt know my address, but knew I lived in Exeter, so he sent the letter to me, care of the Phillips Exeter Academy Library. Somehow a very bright and nice fellow from the PEA letter service tracked down my phone number and I went to pick it up. Mail correspondence followed soon thereafter, and then Alf --- who is 90 years old (!) --- learned how to use e-mail, and our exchanges quickened. I sent him a few autographed books, and in return, he sent me gifts like a letter opener and a wine opener (both useful for a writer, eh?) Alf served in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during WWII, and spent most of his time in Australia and the Pacific. I sent him a history book via Amazon.co.uk about the Royal Navy in the Pacific, and also sent him a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm sweater, which he is wearing in photo 2. Photo 1 is of him holding a Koala bear in a wildlife park in Brisbane, Australia, next to a parks official, while he was in the RN. Just recently my novel FATAL HARBOR was released, and in the Acknowledgments section --- among others --- I said my thanks and appreciation to loyal reader and correspondent Alfred E. Betts, Royal Navy (ret.) and I sent him a copy of the book. A while later, he wrote back, Very many thanks for the book, and to see my name in one of your publications was one of the best things that has happened to me. I was gobsmacked. Alf is 90, lived through the Depression in the UK, survived the Blitz in London during WWII (where his pet dog was killed in the bombing), served in the Royal Navy, motorcycled by himself through Europe after the war, married and raised a family. And my book was one of the best things that had happened to him. Sometimes we writers forget the simple power of words, dont we.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:59:27 +0000
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