I made my mother-in-law cry

I have to admit, I did it on purpose. But she made me cry, too, so I think we are even.

But before you all decide I am a cruel, evil, uncaring witch, just give me a chance to explain. Please? Really, I adore my in-laws. Everybody should be as lucky as I am, when it comes to in-laws.

See, I got this email from her today, and she said she just bought my latest book, the TIME AFTER TIME anthology (scroll down and just look at that GORGEOUS cover!). She took it home, and read my story aloud, sharing it with my father-in-law. Well, the story made her cry - which was a better reaction than I could have hoped for when I was writing it.

I mean, I love that story, but I didn't know if anyone else would even get it, much less be moved by what I wrote. But I made her cry, and she wrote to tell me so, and that made me get all misty-eyed and sniffly.

So, it's all good. And if I can make people cry with my words, then I have really accomplished something. A writer can't ask for more than that; that they reached another human being with their words and their story, and touched their heart. It's what we all aim for when we sit down to put words on paper, to make a connection with the reader.

Thanks, Mott, for letting the story touch you, and for sharing that with me. You two are the greatest!!