Weird e-mails from readers

Yes, authors do get them. Before the internet readers could barely get in touch with writers at all. They sent a letter to the publisher. The publisher sent it to your agent. Then your agent usually passed it on, by which stage a month has usually passed. Now people just hit your contact form, and quite right too.

Usually the messages are very nice and welcome. Occasionally they’re rude. And sometimes they’re just plain odd. Here’s one recent example that came my way.

Dear Mr. Hewson, I am a big fan of yours and other authors who write about Venice, but please, please don’t use the word “staunch” when you mean “stanch” (as in stanch the flow of blood) Thank you.

Stanch? Stanch? Where I come from there is no word stanch. Nevertheless, I do something that the sender of this message clearly hasn’t. I reach for a couple of dictionaries. Then I pen this reply…

In UK English the word is staunch, not stanch. According to the American Heritage Dictionary and the Random House Unabridged Dictionary both spellings are acceptable in the US. I write in UK English and my American editors change spelling/usage as appropriate but given that staunch is in Random House’s own dictionary among others I think I’m happy with that. Glad you liked the books.