This is topic Fan Letters in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
 
'Fess up. To whom have you written fan mail?

My list:

OSC for Rebekah
Thomas Eisner for For Love of Insects
 
Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
 
Id like to write to OSC for Worthing Saga, anyone have an adress to write to? (im kinda new here...)
 
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
 
In case anyone wanted to send me fan mail, my email address is sirius_black@linuxmail.org.
 
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
Are we talking, like, genuine fan mail, Jenny? Mail just to say "good job" or the like?
 
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
 
Tad Williams is the only person to whom I have ever written a fan letter. He's not my favorite author, or anything like that, but I had just read six of his books in a row. It was a spur of the moment thing. I was looking for information about when Sea Of Silver Light would be released, and happened to stumble upon his e-mail address. So I wrote him a quick letter.

About six months later I got an e-mail from him, which was basically just a form letter, with a personal postscript in which he answered a couple of my questions. Pretty cool.
 
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
 
Yeah, Tom D, REAL fan mail where you stroke somebody's ego.
 
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
 
John Stockton- once.
 
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 
I also wrote Tad Williams, but it was just after I'd finished Sea of Silver Light. I found this little article-thingy on his web site, and I felt almost compelled to let him know that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. After going through that much work, you want someone to tell you it was worth it. He sent me a real reply (not a form letter) thanking me for my email. That was cool.

[ March 24, 2004, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: Jon Boy ]
 
Posted by skrika03 (Member # 5930) on :
 
I was in the Bangles fan club. Does that count? I'm pretty sure I wrote a fan letter to David Letterman. I forget if it was intentionally weird to try and get him to read it on the show. i.e. Dave, which kind of cheese do you prefer to brush your teeth with?
 
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
I've written several writers -- ironically, Tad Williams is one of 'em -- but the only one I've done a fannish letter to was Steve Brust; basically, I wanted to ask him what the heck was going on at the end of Brokedown Palace, given the way it kind of fits into the Taltos books (and kind of doesn't. *laugh*)

I was very surprised that he answered me and basically provided a plot outline for the rest of the Taltos series, on the condition that I never tell anybody else. [Smile]
 
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
 
I wrote a fan e-mail to Tad Williams after the second Otherland book (or was it just before?), and he immediately wrote back with a personal e-mail. There was nothing form-letter about it.

I wrote a fan e-mail to Keith Knight, one of my favorite comic strip artists, creator of The K Chronicles. He wrote a really cool e-mail back, too.

When I was in sixth grade I wrote a letter to Lloyd Alexander, and enclosed a tape of a piano piece I had composed based on his Prydain series. He personally wrote a very nice, personal and complimentary letter, along with some printed info about himself and his books.
 
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
 
My hubby and I both composed letters to OSC but have been to chicken to send 'em yet. [Blushing]
 
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
 
I wrote a fan letter to Kristine Card after I read Lost Boys. Although I've written to OSC also, I don't think any of those were solely adulation -- I was either sharing info or asking for info or some such. I guess I figured he got plenty of fan mail already.

--Pop
 
Posted by CalvinMaker (Member # 2032) on :
 
When I was in fifth grade, just after reading The Golden Compass, I wrote a fanmail letter to Phillip Pullman. A few months later I got a personaly reply to my letter. It was awesome.
 
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
 
I wrote to Tony Robinson once, and got a personal reply. And I know especially that it was personalized, because the signature was in blue. I was, I think, nine or ten at the time... so I was super excited to receive it in the mail! [Smile]
 
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
 
Heck, I don't even write my *mother* mail.

If anyone should get one from me I think it outta be her.

"Dear Mom, you are the greatest. Love Dan."
 
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
 
quote:
Slaine, Erik.
"Chain Mail" p. 89 in Heavy Metal, v. 6, no. 11 (Feb.
1983). -- Letters from Carmen M. Imperato, Joey Cavalieri,
Frank Thring, Clay Green, Charles N. Taylor, Erik Slaine,
and Hans Behlendorff. -- Call no.: PN6728.H43v.6no.11


 
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
When I first discovered Hatrack back in the paleolithic period, I was surprised to see OSC's email address listed. I wrote him a fan letter and in a few hours he had written back! It was so cool.

My little brother once wrote a fan letter to Billy Joel, and he got back a signed 8 by 10 glossy photo that said "To Max - Cheers! -Billy Joel." I was so jealous.

And a couple times I sent birthday cards to Bono. You know, back in my young silly days. You know, not like when I was 21 or anything.
 
Posted by aka (Member # 139) on :
 
OSC's email address I think is OrsonCard@aol.com, isn't it? I wrote him one night at 1am after finishing Pageant Wagon, which is still one of my favorite stories of all time, just to say bravo, hooray, great story. The really cool thing was that he answered me by 3am the same night! He was super nice and said he loved to hear when his readers connect with his stories, and that he was working with a friend on a full length musical version of the story, (I guess for a movie) and yes they were insane. <laughs> I was so delighted to hear back from him like that. OSC is just cool.
 
Posted by Dead_Horse (Member # 3027) on :
 
Spider Robinson answered our letter asking him to become our club mascot by accepting, answering our questions, and quipping "I've got a loverly bunch of Co-Canucks!" (He was living in Canada at the time.)
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
When I was in grade school, our class voted on who the class should send fan letters to. I wanted to write to Tom Baker, but my teacher made me write to Lou Ferrigno like everybody else. At least I didn't have to write to one of the people from Dukes of Hazzard. One of the brothers Duke was the class' second choice. I think Olivia Newton John was #3. Tom Baker was pretty far down the list, receiving, if I recall, a single vote.
 
Posted by gwan (Member # 6194) on :
 
If Mation Zimmer Bradley, were alive. I would write her with out a second thought... She is a genius. [Hail]
 
Posted by Sweet William (Member # 5212) on :
 
Dear Mr. Ferigno:

Why does the shirt, the shoes, everything shred, except for those (apparently stretchy pants)?

Do you and Mr. Bixby have the same waist and quad measurements? If so, what good is being a bodybuilder, if you can't get any bigger than some whimp actor?

SW
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Never, I don't think, though I did once get an email from OSC and I replied to it. That reply may have been sorta fangirly. *snort*

I'm... just not a letter writer. I HAVE considered it, occasionally. I just always figured it would come out wrong. Like:

"I really loved the Ender novels. My husband did, too, though he did ask me if you'd had a stroke or anything after he read the bit where Ender causes his brother and sister to materialize out of nothing. What were you THINKING?"

The trouble is that once I start saying what I think, I can't stop. So it's best to say, "I really like your work" and leave it at that. But then, that seems really lame all by itself.

So, NO, I don't do fan mail.

My sister once sent Rod Stewart a comb with instructions. Does that count?
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
I've emailed back and forth with Maureen McHugh, David Brin, and Pat Murphy, but the correspondances weren't particularly "fanish".
 
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I wrote a fawning love letter to Joe from New Kids on the Block when I was 13.

*hides under desk*

The mania lasted exactly two weeks - long enough for me to make a scrapbook and write a letter. No response.
 
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
I write fan mail to musicians I go to see.(not the big stars, the loca and festival musicians) It is really amazing how much they appreciate hearing good things.
 
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
Olivia asked:
"My sister once sent Rod Stewart a comb with instructions. Does that count?"

It counts if it was a fan-shaped comb.
 
Posted by karen.elizabeth (Member # 6345) on :
 
President Clinton.

I was six. I advised him on Welfare reform, gave him a picture of me, and asked for one back (all by my lone self. Okay, so, I had to have Bummy address it).

He didn't reply!

So my Bummy e-mailed him and told he that he was a jerk -- and that she didn't understand why I wanted a picture of him, as he wasn't exactly very attractive in the first place.

The note I got started with "Your letter and your grandmother's have been circulating the White House ..." or something like that.

I now get handwritten messages every time I write to him.
 
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 
I think the only fan letter I've ever written was to OSC's brother Arlen, and I still can't believe he responded. I was really excited.

Oh, and when Last Comic Standing was on I happened upon the email address of contestant Rob Cantrell, so I wrote him a short email on a whim. I really did think he was funnier than most of the people on that show, but I wouldn't have sought him out if I hadn't happened to run across his address while in an odd mood. Anyway, I wrote him a short and strange letter and attached this picture that I took of my friend in high school. I can't remember what else I said, other than the subject of the email was Earth: Ghetto World because that was the tagline for the paperback copy of Pebble in the Sky, which I happened to be reading at the time. Anyway, he wrote me back within a day. It was a short response, but I was still pretty impressed that a semi-famous person acknowledged my existance. I had this crazy "Rob Cantrell wrote me an email" vibe going on for the rest of the day.

[ March 25, 2004, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
 
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I think the only reason I don't write fan letters is now I can still feel the reverberations of shame from writing one to the cutest member of New Kids on the Block. I know I floated for weeks after the first time I talked to OSC.
 
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 
You know, every time I have a strange dream of a random famous person, I'm tempted to write them a letter.

Like last week I had a really vivid dream that I was in a huge building in Europe and my wife wanted me to follow her up about 100 flights of stairs to the top. So I was about half way up, and one of the floors that I passed was a huge room with a giant crowd of people sitting on the floor talking. Right next to the staircase was Stewart Copeland, the drummer for The Police. I wanted to stop, but my wife wouldn't let me. About 20 floors later I convinced her to let me go down and get a picture with him. So I went down the stairs, but it became one of those moving-through-molasses type dream moments, and I couldn't get back down. When I finally did see him again, my camera was out of batteries. I was hoping I could get enough juice to take one picture, and he was getting really impatient. It kind of continued like that until I woke up.

That was one of the only famous people that I actually respect that has ever come into my dreams. Usually it's an anchor for MTV News or something odd and random like that. But even then, I'm always tempted to write them a letter, just to inform them that they've influenced someone that they don't know to dream about them. But I never get around to it.
 
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Once, when we lived in Colorado, the Pope visited Denver for a world youth conference. My mom heard about the visit, and wrote him a letter inviting him to come over for dinner while he was in town. (My family is Mormon.)

We got a letter on really fancy stationary back from a secretary of some sort, saying: "His Holiness is flattered by your invitation but unfortunately cannot accept. He sends his blessings to you and your family."
 
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
 
I always think it's funny how whenever someone gets halfway famous, receiving any kind of personal correspondence from them is suddenly a huge deal?like somehow they are proving that fame has not corrupted them yet, and that they're human. Everything they say is suddenly profound and valuable.

I guess when you get famous you have to start guarding your private life more and more, so maybe sending out replies to fan mail IS more of a special thing. What's really funny is to watch how some people take it upon themselves to guard the celebrity's privacy, while at the same time claiming an inside connection to the celebrity.

I'm a fan of Radiohead, but I can't think of one thing to say to them that wouldn't sound fanboyish. "Gee, Thom, I love your music! So what's the process you guys follow for putting a song together? So what do you do when you're not writing music?"

If I were a celebrity, having to spend a day with a star-struck fan (because the fan won the grand prize) would bug the hell out of me.
 
Posted by karen.elizabeth (Member # 6345) on :
 
Annie, your mum is awesome. *grins*
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
There are very few famous people that I'd strike up a conversation with, if I were to bump into them. If I didn't feel like I had anything worthwhile to say, I'd probably just keep quiet. In fact, the only non-author famous person I'd strike up a conversation with would be George Harrison, if he were still alive.

In actuality, if I saw George Harrison walking down the street now, I'd flee in terror--I'd be afraid he wanted to eat my brain.
 
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
 
quote:
My sister once sent Rod Stewart a comb with instructions. Does that count?
[ROFL]
 
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
 
Why George Harrison in particular, Noemon?
 
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
 
[Big Grin] Noemon

Seriously, I don't have anything more to say to famous people than I do to the average joe stranger. If I saw someone I recognized I'd more than likely say "cool!" and then go about my business.
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
Well, I'd want to talk to him about his ideas about the nature of reality, and that kind of thing. Apparently he had a difficult time finding people who were willing to do more than humor him in talking about it (according to an interview with Michael Palin, anyway), so I have a feeling he'd have been receptive. Actually, I think he'd have fit in pretty well here at Hatrack, if he'd ever happened onto it.
 
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
 
I can honestly say that the only person I've ever sent fan mail to is Annie.

Hobbes [Smile]
 
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
 
Chuck Palahniuk.

and he sent me two of his personal hard cover copies of Fight Club afterwards(which were out of print). both signed. one was a yugoslavian edition of the book. both had random stickers placed in the books as book marks and had random scribbles signifying his favorite number or chapter. [Smile]
 
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
 
Wow, Strider, that's awesome!!
 
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
 
Yeah! I paid $20 to join the Kasey Kahne Fan club almost a month ago. The t-shirt finally arrived. Along with a couple signed pictures, a membership certificate (I am fan number 58), a Membership card and a cup holder w/ the Dodge Motorsports logo. This is awesome! Kahne is a rookie Nascar driver that is my driver's (Jeremy Mayfield) teammate. I can't join JM's yet because I don't use checks. I will have to wait until they accept CCs. In the meantime I will suffice being a member of his unofficial fan club site.
 
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
Noemon, did you ses the tribute to George Harrison on PBS with his son, wife, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, and a cast of musicians from India, Great Britain, and the US?
 
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Ron used to travel a LOT, usually first class, for his job. He shared flights with Jerry Springer and his disabled daughter, M.C. Hammer and his 'posse', various sports guys and David Duchovny (that was the only one I really wished I'd been there to see, but I couldn't tell Ron that. [Big Grin] ). He never spoke to any of them. The one time he was most tempted was when he stayed in the same hotel as Yo Yo Ma in Pittsburgh, and they rode down the elevator together. He's a HUGE fan of Mr. Ma, and he was just tongue-tied.

Which is funny to me, since Ron was probably fairly imposing, being tall and muscular and all. Completely awed by this little unassuming Asian fellow in wire glasses carrying a cello case.
 
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 
I can't imagine a large American being intimidated by a small Asian carrying a string instrument.

[ March 25, 2004, 11:07 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
 
Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
 
I suppose I wrote some fan mail to OSC, but it was more about a question than to "drool" over his talent. Yes, I got a response. Yes, it was personalized. Finally, yes, it was as routine and boring as the question I had asked.

Other than that, I have never written fan mail because I never saw the point. I suppose if I were cynical I could write to them by snale-mail in hopes they give me their signiture so I couls sell it over e-bay.
 
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
 
Neil Gaiman once or twice, and that's it.
 
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
"What's really funny is to watch how some people take it upon themselves to guard the celebrity's privacy, while at the same time claiming an inside connection to the celebrity."

Advice for Robots,
I saw this phenomenon in action tonight. I went to a Richard Thompson concert, followed by a champagne reception. Now, obviously, people who paid 100 bucks for a concert, followed by a lovely party, are doing it TO MEET RICHARD THOMPSON. I was sure there for that reason, I will readily admit it. I heard people behind me saying, "Poor Richard, he's swamped. Oh, look, he broke away. Poor guy, can;t they leave him alone?"
Well, hell-O, wasn't the guy clogging up the same space as everyone else he was complaining about? If he really cared about him being left alone, he would have gone home after the concert.

I am a groupie, pure and simple, of about fifteen different bands.(I am not sure if there is a limit on how many bands you can be a groupie of)

My name is Elizabeth. I am a musicianoholic.
 


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