I’ve had fan letters from quite a few places: USA, Canada, Australia, Hawaii, Scotland, Ireland and England.  I answer every letter, even though it sometimes takes me several weeks to find the time. Many of them are from Rescue Princesses fans as that was my first series and my biggest one to date. Now and then I get a letter from someone who loves Red Moon Rising or The Storm Dragon.

Fans usually start by telling me how much they like the stories. They often ask the same kinds of questions: Do I have a favourite book? Do I have a favourite character? (I always say I can’t pick one book or character as a favourite because it seems unfair to the others!) Please could I write some more books in the series? Sometimes they include pictures from the story like the beautifully-coloured drawing at the top. I love receiving fan mail, especially when they tell me a few things about themselves. It’s as if they’ve opened a little window into their lives which I can look through.

A girl from Ohio wrote to me this summer. She talked about how she was trying to follow the ideals of the Rescue Princesses – to love animals and to be brave. She went on to tell me about times she’d had to be brave – when a relative was in hospital and when she’d fallen off her bike and got lots of bumps and scrapes. I could tell from the way she wrote it all that she really was a very brave girl. I received her letter exactly at a time when I had lots of worries of my own. I needed to try to be as brave as this girl.

It’s humbling to be taught something by a fan, but it was a lesson well learned. Thank you, Francesca from Ohio. My letter back to you is in the post.