Someone’s favorite author

The summer after my freshman year of college, I was home and bored. Looking for a distraction, I took a trip to my local Barnes & Noble and browsed the shelves for a new book. After a six-course semester that included a math class taught by a man who didn't know how to pronounce the word 'zero,' I was desperate for something fictional and light. Don't ask me how I wound up selecting a Harlan Coben book while perusing the aisles for something 'light,' but I happily drove home with my copy of "Just One Look" sitting safely on my passenger seat.

I read the entire book that night. Coben's punchy dialog, the way he let his story unfold, the tiny details that were so thoughtfully woven in his words-- the whole thing mesmerized me. I went back to the bookstore the next day and picked up three more books by Coben.

I was hooked.

If you've ever snooped one of my dating app profiles or sat through the fictional writing class I took a few years ago, you've heard me gush about how Harlan Coben is my all-time favorite author. Yes, he writes well. And yes, he tells interesting stories. But more than that, he pulls his readers in with relatable characters you can root for and thrilling twists and turns in each story. Reading his books is such a treat and for me, a distraction from the chaos (or even the occasional humdrums) of my own life.

I thought about all of it this weekend, as I worked on my latest vision board. He may be a writer in the not-so-far-away land of Asbury Park, NJ, but so many times, he has been my knight in ink-marked paper. When I have a bad day, he's on my Insta feed with his cute dog. If I can't sleep, he has Myron Bolitar on standby to get me through the night. Stressed and in need of some comfort? I've read some of his books several times-- and they keep ending the same, even when I find new details on the re-read. He has been there when no one else could be for me. And that is what I thought of as I wrote "Someday, you'll be someone's favorite author" across the top of my vision board.

As a writer, I cannot think of a better privilege than to be someone's favorite author. Even if an author and reader never meet, it's an intimate relationship. From building a world for someone to get lost in for a few hours to creating characters from your soul that resonates with theirs, a good story is a gift.

I keep reminding myself of this as I slowly chip away at the story in my head. Word by word, page by page, it is being pieced together on my laptop. When I want to scrap it and throw it away, I remind myself that someday, someone will be so grateful for this story and these characters. They will make the reader feel heard or will offer them refuge from a bitter day. This is a gift I cannot wait to give.