Ms. Henderson,
I met you briefly at an author autograph session at Books a Million in Dec '04. I bought the whole set as a gift for a friend and just Cabin, Misery on the Mountain for myself. Although I love to read, things have been so crazy and hectic in my life that I haven't had time to indulge and my copy has been gathering dust all this time. Last week I hurt my leg (nothing very serious) which forced me to slow down and I finally got to start reading some of "Misery". Well...I have been totally sucked in! I am almost ready to start Cabin II and when I bought it I also got Cabin III so I can continue without stopping. By the time I get into #3 I'll have Cabin IV waiting in the wings. I feel very privileged to have a personalized autographed copy of Cabin : "Misery" and I had the great fortune of finding one (and only one) copy of Cabin II with your autograph in it also. I bought that one.
As a native West Virginian (originally from the northern panhandle but ultimately having lived in other parts of the state), I am often offended by the perception that so much of the country has about the ignorant hillbilly West Virginians. However, having lived here all of my life I do know that these people DO exist. I have lived in Marshall, Upshur, Kanawha, Jackson, Clay and now Monongalia counties and they all have their pockets of these unfortunate, uneducated, often inbred, reclusive families who live in a different world.
Your characters each spring to life with individual personalities and outlooks. They could be real people. I intentionally did not read any of the cover or lead-in clips so that none of the story would be given away until I got to it in print. I was very surprised as I came to many of the twists and turns. It is more fun not knowing what to expect. You are a very good story teller and this is a very good story. I am looking forward to reading the whole series. Thanks for the entertainment. Your stories make me appreciate how well things really are in my own life. It makes me thankful for my caring family and for my running water and electricity, et al. Keep 'em coming. I'll be sure to MAKE time to read these!
Sincerely yours,
Another Carol
PS: I LOVE your work and this is NOT criticism, just observation -- One thing I did think when I was reading---that Sheriff at Winding Ridge (Moats) speaks too well. There is a common grammatical error that I have heard all over the state which sets my ear on edge: constant misuse of the past perfect tense. From Physician to teacher to coal miner (which includes my coal-miner husband) I constantly hear such things as "he had did" instead of done; "I have came" instead of come; "we have ran" instead of run; AND ESPECIALLY: "She had went" instead of gone -- that one is more commonly heard than any of them. I think Sheriff Moats would have made this common West Virginian error in his speech pattern. Maybe when he was in school he paid attention in English class that day and learned to speak correctly.
