Thank you for everything you have written. I doubt I could have made it through a relatively isolated an unhappy home life without your books to fuel my passion for education and the overall betterment of myself. By chance, I managed to purchase my first books of yours at age 12 with money saved up from months of chores at a local store. I had grown up on the Arthurian legend, and even though I was incredibly young I picked up all three books of the Warlord Trilogy and brought them home with me. Needless to say, I understood very little of what I read at the time, but have come to reread The Warlord Trilogy and many other books of yours over the passing years. However, these first three books have become some of my most treasured possessions. By 16, my generally-absent father had abandoned my mother and I, leaving a fairly sad and worrisome environment at home. Without your novels, I doubt I could have remained excited to learn and work towards achievement at school, yet I managed to finish Valedictorian and Class President. In my Commencement Speech to my Senior Class, I referenced you and your oft-written message that “fate is inexorable” in an effort to convince my classmates and an audience of ~5,000 that we should not pass up opportunity due to hardship, as our actions ultimately will define who we are and will become. I am now a junior at Carnegie Mellon University’s Interdisciplinary Honors Program, and still continue to read and reread all of your works. As a leader in CMU’s Student Government I was asked to name my favorite novel and author, and I was easily able to name my first read of yours, “The Winter King”. That endorsement is publically available online and to the entire CMU community and was publically recommended to many members of CMU’s Student Government and Faculty. I’m not sure if you will even receive this letter, but I wanted to at least attempt to thank the writer that helped me become the person I am today. Life has not been easy in any sense, yet with your books I have always found the inspiration to push beyond any boundary. If nothing else, your gift has acted as a defining factor in helping me attain success in a situation that would easily be seen as hopeless or depressing. Thank you, and may you continue to write for many years to come. I will always be there to continue to read true mastery. Ben