This is my 300th blog post on LorenRhoads.com, which pretty much blows my mind.  This blog (my fourth) was started in January 2013, when I decided I wanted to blog from my own domain.

I wanted to do something special to commemorate the milestone, so I’m going to do a throwback to my Red Room blog.  It recorded one of the major turning points in my life.

What follows was originally posted in January 2008, but it’s relevant now because the sequel to the story it talks about appears in the Fright Mare anthology, which came out in February — and a new Alondra story, one of my favorites, will appear in New Realm magazine tomorrow.

I usually check my email after my daughter goes to bed, getting ready to settle on the sofa with Mason and unwind from the day. But last night I got an email that entirely fired me up and put a shine on a day that was already good, since my copies of Sins of the Sirens had come in the mail.

With permission, I quote:

“I just wanted to mention to you how much I loved one of your stories. I’m a big fan of “Not One Of Us” magazine, and have read most of their issues. Anyway, I sat down this morning at 6:00am with a big cup of coffee & the latest issue of “Not One Of Us.” I had no expectations, other than their good collections of short horror stories. Well, I could not believe the impact your story “The Fox and the Foreigner” had on me. Yes, it had its light elements of “magic,” but it was the single most beautiful story I have read in years; considering it was only 13 pages long, that really says something. I can’t tell you how moved I was after reading this, but I can tell you your story brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for starting my day in such a beautiful way.”

Wow.

“The Fox and the Foreigner” is one of my favorite stories, so I’m thrilled that someone likes it. But to take the time to look me up and tell me… I am thoroughly jazzed.

Now I want to sit down and write more stories that make people cry, that bring a little magic to their days.

This is still true.