I read the book Broken for You {by Stephanie Kallos) a few years ago and was enchanted by the story and the characters. Intrigued, I looked up Kallos, found her website, and was equally enchanted by her bio, written as "Directions to Where I Am." In fact, I accepted her invitation and wrote one of my own.

Then I had a quandary. I wanted to post my bio but I wanted to give her credit for the idea. Years of both hearing and giving the Don't Plagiarize speech had made me a little nervous about ripping off someone else's idea. Covering my bases, when I posted the entry I (1) credited her with the idea and, just to be sure, I (2) e-mailed her the link, along with my admiration and thanks. That way, if the Plagiarism Keystone Cops showed up at the door I could say I had done everything I could to make sure it was okay.

She sent a generous and encouraging reply. We corresponded a bit. She is lovely and down-to-earth in addition to being a terrific novelist.

To top it all off, she enthusiastically agreed to write for the Letters project despite the fact that she has just barely wrapped up the finishing edits on her next book. (I can only imagine that, after finishing a novel, the last thing you want to do is write something right away. Kind of like running a marathon and then having someone challenge you to run back home, I'd guess.) Her letter features chocolate, music practicing, dealing with "it's not fair!", and her epiphany about helping her sons handle difficult moments. I won't hear (or respond to) "it's not fair" the same way again. Many thanks SK!