Dear Mr. Cornwell,
I wanted to write you and tell you that your books have meant a lot to me in the past year. For background, I was an avid reader growing up and would read pretty much any historic fiction or fantasy series I could get my hands on. However, I majored in history in college and taught English for two years which, unfortunately, significantly reduced my desire to read in my free time.
During my second year of teaching, the pandemic hit and I suddenly found myself at home with a lot of free time. Naturally, I did what many did and binged Netflix where I eventually found The Last Kingdom show. Throughout the year, I watched the show and fell in love with the world.
A few months later, I made a major move and started a new, non-teaching job, and I was in a very depressed, lonely mindset as the isolation of social distancing and being in a brand new city. I decided to listen to The Last Kingdom series audiobooks while taking my dog on walks, and immediately became obsessed with the series. They also weirdly helped me get out more as I wanted to be out walking or running errands as an excuse to listen to the story.
I then started reading the books as the audiobooks moved too slow for me. This has also gotten me out more because I wanna read the books in locations like coffee shops and breweries. The had a major impact on improving my mental health.
I am now nearing the end of the series and I am feeling genuinely down like I am going to lose a good friend soon. To me, that feeling is the definitive sign that the book is a great one.
What I want to convey is that you have made a real positive impact on my life through your writing, and I am very grateful for it. I know that I am not the only one, and I know that you have made greater impacts on the lives of many others.
Thank you for your time, and I hope that you are happy and healthy across the big pond.
Best,
Harrison