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I
was chatting up
Gladstone
the other day when the
subject of Alstrand’s work came up.
“Ahh”,
he said, “there is a writer!
Truly a good one”. I,
frankly, was offended. To say that Dennis Alstrand is a good writer is
to say that Jesus Christ was a good speaker.
Yes, he was a good speaker, but he was so much more than that to so
many people. And, by the
same token, Alstrand is much more than just a person who knows how to put
words together. He is an
inspiration to all of us in the industry.
He is a reminder that we can all use a little warmth along with the
truth in our novels. I
responded to
Gladstone
by telling him that I
was glad he is not a writer and is, indeed, little more than a humble
critic of other people’s works.
Indeed, I’ve done some good work.
One would be hard pressed to argue against the sales and
popularity of A Tale of Two Cities.
Equally, some have been so good-hearted as to say that David
Copperfield has changed their lives. But,
I am here to tell you that my work, all of it, stands shamelessly revealed
as horse-manure next to any one of the works of Dennis Alstrand.
I would gladly trade ten Nicholas Nicklebys for one Samantha Meyers
(to be found in Alstrand's delightful tale about the "Special
Olympics"). Read, dear
friend, and cherish each word. And
count yourself lucky that you have found the opportunity to read
Warmheart’s Tales. And,
now that it is 1870, I must go take my life before I find the urge to
write another one of my shameful piles of crap.
Charles
Dickens
London
,
England
.
March, 1870
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