One of the hardest things to get used to when your first book, your baby, comes out is the variety of criticism.  And it only takes a bad review here or there, out of hundreds of good ones to put you in a bad mood.  They're the minority, but they still stick in your craw.  And then you get letters like this that just floor you in a good way:

Normally I don't go about stalk--- er writing fan letters, but for you I decided to make an exception.
I just finished reading "Dead to Me," and I gotta say...Wow! I enjoyed it so much I could hardly put it down. Likely I wouldn't have save for the "onerous" duties of Mommy-hood. I do have to keep my rugrats fed and amused and the like. This book was one of the finest of it's genre I have read to date. It blended a macabre and off-beat sense of humor perfectly with some pretty heavy stuff. The world you crafted is fantasical and yet still retains a sense of reality to it. The characters are finely crafted and believable. I found myself thinking that Simon and Jane are just the sort of people that I would "hang" with given the chance. I love that you gave Simon psychometry, a talent that I find fascinating. It hasn't really been used to it's full potentional, IMHO, in any genre.
Kudos to you for a great book. My only complaint is that I have to wait for the next one. There have been very few books I've actually been a little sad at finishing and yours is one of them. When I finished it I felt a mild sense of loss, like leaving a good friend behind not knowing when next I'll see him.

These days I need good escapes on occasions from reality (my kids have ADHD and Autism respectively and it can be a bit stressful at times). Thank you for providing me a chance to unwind.

Looking forward to the next installment,
Sara Camarata