Last weekend I received the second piece of fan mail I’ve ever received in my life. I was touched and flattered, of course, but it reminded me of a long-ago resolution I’d made–when I received my first fan mail–and failed to keep. I remembered that I have never once reached out to another author myself.

I can think of many, many authors whose work has meant a great deal to me but who haven’t received the kind of attention that Cormac McCarthy or Ursula LeGuin get. Kij Johnson and John Crowley come immediately to mind. One of them will get an email from me this week–I resolve it. Or re-resolve it.