The Readers

To my readers:

Thank you.

The consistent positive responses from those of you who have read Abiding Darkness are gratifying—and I’m stirred by each good word. I’ve extracted some of your comments and put them in this section in hopes of attracting the attention of new readers. If you see your own words, know that I’m in your debt.

To the potential reader:

Thanks for stopping in.

Before you read the comments below, you need to know that to the degree that I take credit for anything that happens with my books, I err on the side of idiocy. To paraphrase what I said on another page . . . God orchestrated this entire process.

Good Comments (the abbreviated version):

Response to the first book has been great . . . ranging from “OH! MY! GOSH!” to “I’m sorry, but it scares me so bad I can’t read it unless my husband’s in the house with me.”

Good Comments (a more comprehensive version):

"I wanted to know what was going to happen, but I was also fearful."

“This is a powerfully told story.”

“I like the comfortable characters in the book.”

“I found myself smiling, laughing, crying, and being scared throughout.”

“I wept uncontrollably . . .”

From one of my pre-readers. “At times I found myself so absorbed in the action or emotions of the characters—for pages at a time—that I would forget my purpose in reading the manuscript.”

“My husband was planning to get to sleep early because he had to catch an early flight the next day.
“Against my advice, he took your book to bed with him, saying, ‘I’m just going to dip my toe in it.’
“He read till two fifteen in the morning.”

“I gave your book to my mom and told her not to start reading it at night. She called the next day, angry at me because she had stayed up reading it until five thirty in the morning.”

From a lady: “John, I’ve started reading your book, and it’s good, but it’s too scary for me to finish right now. I’m keeping it on my nightstand till I get my courage up.”
Her husband laughed and said, “She’s got a cross sitting on top of it to keep the demons in.”
He wasn’t kidding.

“John, I took your book to the beach, and it’s water-logged from my tears.”

“I didn’t want to read anymore and yet I couldn’t stop. It was incredible!”

“I dared not skip or scan pages lest I miss something.”

“. . . you described a place where I wanted to be and people I wanted to be with. Your characters will always remain in my memory.”

From a retired airline captain who was riding as a passenger: “When we parked at the gate, I had to stay in my seat till the other passengers were off the plane. I couldn’t keep from crying, and I didn’t want people to think I was nuts.”

“. . . 3 dimensional scenes come right off the pages . . .”

A lady: “I had to put it down last night (a) because it was very late, and (b) because I had cried so hard my nose stopped up and I couldn’t breathe!”

“As I was reading, I could see it all in my mind’s eye.”

“The sign of a good book for me is when I find myself slowing down as I reach the end because I don’t want to give up the relationship with the characters.”

“Okay, that was one of the best books I’ve ever read! How long do I have to wait for the next one?”