The photo above shows three people in one row on an airplane flight, just before Christmas, reading Kindles. One of these happens to be Ana's editor, one is his wife, and another his daughter. The picture does not show an unrelated man in the seat across the aisle also reading his Kindle. It's a good example of how popular e-readers and especially Kindles have become.
The story of Ana Darcy Méndez, the first extraterrestrial human to return to Earth, has been a real hit with Kindle owners. We deeply appreciate all those who have enjoyed reading Ana's chronicles, and we wish them (and everyone else) a joyous holiday season and a happy new year. But there is also a mystery connected with this, which we will get to shortly.
The reasons for the stories' popularity are obvious and yet not so obvious. Obviously, they are light, imaginative, and fun reading, with engaging characters and a rich mix of suspense, action, and human interest. There are never enough stories like this. For another, the series is budget priced, always a good thing, especially when compared to the handsome paperback editions. Third, they are ideal books for the Kindle, and for other types of e-readers. Readers of e-books often read in waiting rooms, on airplanes, and wherever idle time pops up, but they quickly put them down when their turn arrives or the plane lands. While many find Ana's stories hard to put down, they are also easy to pick up again without forgetting where the story left off. They are something to look forward to resuming.
The mystery behind their popularity is less obvious. Ana's books are independently published, and receive no promotion from the literary/industrial complex (with the exception of the visionary people at Amazon.com). Ana's author is a retired person of embarrassingly modest means, who writes for the fun of it and has an avertising budget of approximately zero. The mystery, in a nutshell, is this: how have so many people managed to find out about the Distant Cousin series?
It can only be word of mouth--readers so pleased that they think to recommend them to spouses, friends, and others. To those thoughtful, considerate people we would like to extend our special thanks. We have no idea who you are, where you are, or how you discovered Ana's stories, but you are in our thoughts as we near completion of the next in the series. Our deepest appreciation and warmest best wishes to you!
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