I recently had occasion to meet one of Key West's current writers, one who writes books for girls. She's maybe the best author ever for little girls, and her books must certainly be considered classics by now. I read them when I was little, and they were the best ever. I remember when a new book of hers came out, and rumor got around that there were racy parts in it. My best Saturday friend and I checked it out of the library one weekend and we were so excited to get our hands on it we sat down on the front steps of the library and read it right there, aloud to each other, skipping to what we thought were the juicy parts.
So I was pretty excited to discover that one of patrons of the establishment where I work was this very same Key West writer. At first, I only learned who she was after she'd left the building so I had time to build up excitement and hope by the next time she came in. When she did, I let her know I was a huge fan, and I loved her work. She was... well, she didn't care. She smiled but I could tell she wanted to get away from me. Now when I see her at work and she has to exchange with me because she has to pay for stuff, she hides her eyes and hurries away. She just didn't care and I felt kind of let down in the way that fans always have expectations of who famous people are and how they should behave.
She's a famous writer. Shouldn't she have a way of addressing fans and acknowledging fame by now? She looks to be in her 70's, and she's been a prize-winning author for decades. Hasn't she figured out how to just say thank you I'm glad you enjoyed my books? That's all I wanted to say, I really didn't remember her books enough to have an actual discussion about them, or even the title of my favorite one. I just wanted to say I loved her stuff, and she still matters.
