The heart shaped box

For Valentine's Day, my dh gave me a box of Thornton's chocolate in a heart shaped box. I saved the box, intending to put my first reader letter in it. And today I received one -- from Allison Littlehalles who had successfully bid for The Gladiator's Honour last autumn in the Larissa ione Appeal.
As Allison likes the period, and is also a writer, I was a bit nervous, but she enjoyed the book and wrote a really sweet note. Which I am trying desperately hard not to gush about.
Anyway, I have printed the letter off, and it i snow residing in my heart shaped box.

And as I struggle to get the end of my current wip, it has given me a significant boast. Maybe I am doing something right...

I have had feedback before on The Lady Soldier, but somehow it was different as that was a joint effort. It is hard to explain. It was as if the praise belonged to someone else -- Jennifer Lindsay, not me. I have heard other writers who write under pen names say that they feel slightly divorced from their books when they see them in print. So maybe it was that.

Hopefully this will be a good omen for Gladiator's Honour when it goes on general release and for the Roman time period in general...No doubt there will people who don't like it or who think -- oh yuck, but for the moment, I am going to bask in the sunshine. Because, reader feedback is a gift.