The books are based on a private invesitgator named Kinsey Millhone. Each book is titled for a letter of the alphabet – A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, and so on.
So, Mom calls me in mid November to tell me the new book is out – S is for Silence. I did some research and discovered it would not be out until December 6th, but I looked online for a large print edition to pre-order. My mother can no longer read the regular prints. I couldn’t find one anywhere.
I took it upon myself to send a letter to the author, Sue Grafton. The end of November, I got a letter back. The letter was inserted into a Christmas card and she mentioned she would be near my home town the day the book was released.
I trotted (like any good daughter should) over to the Books-A-Million at 8am on release day to get my line ticket. I went back at 7pm to stand in line for the author to autograph my copy.
She was really sweet, suggested a “Merry Christmas” to my Mom be inscribed, and posed for a photo with me. So, come Christmas gift exchange time, Mom will open the greatly-anticipated hardback, first edition, personally signed copy of S is for Silence in a type too small for her to see. Now where do I buy her a magnifying glass?