What’s better than getting mail from a dear friend? For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an affinity for written correspondence. When I was ten, I had at least that many pen pals from all over the country. I even had one in Canada, and my mom dutifully paid the extra postage. She put her foot down on the Australian one I wanted to write to, though.
When I was fourteen and Yahoo Messenger was a relatively new thing, I had heart-pounding chats with one of my earliest crushes who shall remain nameless. Oh, the smile our typed conversations put on my face, and the flutter in my tummy as I waited for his responses. During high school, I received a mystery rose along with a for-real secret admirer note. I was fascinated–until I learned who it was from and that he gave the same thing to one of my friends. But still! It was exciting.
I worked at several Christian summer camps, and one of my favorite things was the note exchange between staff. One camp had a string along the wall in the cafeteria, and anyone could write a note to anyone and leave it there. I made it my goal to write a note for every single staff member one week, and whew, was that a lot of work. At the other camp, there was a small push-pin board for staff notes, and I would go check with a hopeful heart that someone had thought of me.
I had two serious long-distance relationships before I got married (to one of those two), and both included a whole lot of emails, text messages, and instant messaging.
Written correspondence has been such a big part of my life that it is no wonder I adore any book that includes a written exchange.
First, there is the classic You’ve Got Mail theme. Betsy St. Amant’s Tacos for Two is truly fantastic, featuring two characters falling for each other anonymously online—while feuding in person in a food truck war. It has humor and grief and family issues and healing. My friend Elizabeth Trent has one coming out soon with this theme that I had the privilege of beta reading. What I Like About Us doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is a very worthy read. And our own Inspy Romance author Tara Grace Ericson has a You’ve Got Mail rendition, Lavender and Lace, which features IMing in a chat room between two characters who might not be so chatty face-to-face.
If you like some great text-message exchanges, K. Leah features these in her Finding Home series. When I Found You and One She Never Expected have some of the best, and they can get pretty funny. Carolyn Miller’s Love on Ice has texts and emails which involve a long-distance relationship between two athletes in different countries. Her Checked Impressions has texts and blog post comments where the heroine is hiding the fact she runs a blog devoted to a particular player who just so happens to be the hero.
Do you like the concept of mail-order brides but prefer contemporary romance? Deb Kastner’s got you covered in her Email Order Brides books. Each one includes either online communication or text messages, especially Phoebe’s Groom and Meeting Mr. Right. For real, old-fashioned snail-mail, Amy Anguish’s Writing Home features the two main characters starting as pen pals set up by her best friend and his cousin.
I love this written-exchange theme so much that I have an entire series, Scripted Love, that features different methods of correspondence. Book 1, With Love, Melody, features chatting in an online dating app. Book 2, Forever Yours, Lucy, features secret admirer notes. Book 3, With All My Heart, Joy, features a written Christmas card exchange. Book 4, Always and Forever, Elizabeth, which will release this fall, features sticky note messages.
The prequel to the series Hugs and Kisses, Charity, features an ongoing email exchange between workplace rivals. In fact, I just released it last week (yep, I wrote things a bit out of order this round!), and it’s free for all subscribers. You can get it HERE.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you enjoy books that feature written exchanges? Which one is your favorite? And if you dare…did you ever have a romance by correspondence? Tell us about it in the comments!
Emily Dana Botrous is an east-coast transplant who now calls San Diego home. She is a wife and mom of four. When she’s not busy doing laundry, packing lunches, and picking toys off the floor, she enjoys reading, cooking, music, long walks, and writing. Always writing. It is her goal in all things to make Jesus first, last, and always.
Hi Emily! Interesting blog with fun book topics. My German parents in 1945 met on a train. Mom was on the way to nurses school in Hamburg. Dad was returning as a prisoner of war from a Russian camp from Leningrad to Berlin. They corresponded. Dad proposed in a letter. Mom sent the ring back. But love won – my parents were married at the beginning of the Berlin Airlift – July 1948. I still have 2 letters he wrote to mom. I discovered the letters after my parents’ passing and I was cleaning out the family home.
Summer 1971 while at a church conference in Winnipeg, Canada I met a young man. We corresponded for 6 months. But realized we had to much to lose professionally if I moved from the US to Canada or vise versa. So we called off our correspondence. Phone calls in those days were expensive, especially internationally. Next I corresponded with letters with my husband. We met in college, but lived 300 miles apart. He was finishing school and I had a teaching job. I did have a phone plan for from 7 pm to 7 am – phone calls in the state were “a nickel a minute.”
While in the digital universe it is delightful to interact in real time through emails, text, video chats – there is something about having physical letters and cards to cherish or have one’s ancestors discover decades later. All that is lost in the digital world. Being old school, I send weekly cards / letters to my 6 year old granddaughter. She loves “GETTING MAIL” with a picture to color, a photo, some small surprise to cherish. Can’t do that in our video chats.
This Michigander is looking forward to reading your book With Love, Melody and its Michigan setting. Best wishes. Happy Writing.
I have read all of your Scripted Series, so far. I’m almost finished with “Hugs and Kisses, Charity”. I know I’m running late leaving a review, but I’m on vacation visiting family I only get to see once a year.
I do love written communication between the characters. Sometimes, you can get a better feel for them when reading what they wrote as opposed to what they say, if that makes any sense.
I still have the letters my husband wrote me during the year before we were married. I lived in a college dorm with two phones on each floor, and he lived and worked a couple of hours away. Neither of us had money for a lot of phone calls. Some of those letters were written during the time I went to England for a college term abroad. Of course, this was before cell phones existed, or even Face Book or the Internet. We wrote letters.
I’ve really enjoyed the series so far, looking forward to Charity, thank you!
It’s great heating everyone’s experience of writing letters. I used to love exchanging letters with my cousins when I was young. I’ve never written any romantic letters, by the time I was dating we were texting and emailing and I’ve never had a long distance relationship. I do still like writing proper Christmas cards and thank you notes rather than a text or message, it’s nice to get something through the post.
I do like reading about written exchanges!! I’ve got a few of the ones you’ve mentioned in my TBR stack!!
Wow, Renate, that is such a neat story about your parents! Sounds straight out of a romance novel, in fact. Even better that it’s true!
Yes, real mail is something special. My daughter (age 7) is now pen pals with the daughter of a college friend of mine from Vermont, and she gets over-the-moon excited when a letter arrives. It’s the most adorable thing.
With Love, Melody is all about Michigan winters. The second book is set in summer in the same local. I do love Michigan!
Hi Bonnie, thank you so much for reading my books. :) I’m glad you’re spending time with family! I just finished a family trip, and it was wonderful.
Yes, personal writings are kind of a window into the soul, so to speak. Always makes things more interesting!
That’s so sweet, Beth. I do love the speed of digital communication, but before it existed, written words were so much more precious because they came with patience and pining. That’s so neat that you still have his letters.
Hi Ruthie, yes getting mail is definitely a highlight! My grandma enjoys it so much that she mailed me blank cards and a whole sheet of stamps. I took the hint. My kids enjoy sending her little notes.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my books! That means the world to me.
That’s great, Trudy. So do I! I forgot to include Toni Shiloh’s forthcoming novel The Love Script. I saw a sneak peek of a text exchange from the book that she posted on Instagram, and it was sooo good, I wanted to read it right then and there!
Yes. I loved the text exchange in Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant. Yes, I had a written long distance relationship. He was not much into writing. He would call instead. That was when you waiting until later in the evening to call for cheaper rates. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Hi Debra, my husband isn’t much of a writer, either. I wrote the wordy emails in our long-distance relationship, and he called me back. It worked!
“Authentically Izzy” by Pepper Basham! it’s beautiful book and leaves such a positive feeling! his protagonist settled for something “decent” in his life and God gives him the complete combo! both meet through a dating app.
I have two dear pen pals, just friends I’m just too suspicious to fall in love without ever seeing someone.
First I know Penny Zeller has a book which includes letters. its historical and has the heroine school class sending to a neighbouring school. Each of the kids have a penfriend/pal. the hero is in love with the heroine in the other town and starts to be her secret pen pal.
I use to have penpals. I did have a couple in school but then I joined a penpal club and had penpals from all over the world. I got to meet one of the American penpals. I also had some aussies who loved cricket and got to meet 8 of them I think. (and a few email penpals). It was so much fun
On romance I did sign up to a Chrisitan singles group. I did write to a few letters but nothing came from it. but My penpal in Washington State meet and married her husband due to being penpals.
Hi, Lilly! I’ve heard a lot about Authentically Izzy. I need to put that on my TRB list (along with hundreds of others!). I’m with you on needing to see someone face-to-face first! But that’s neat that you have two pen pals. Rare these days!
Hi Jenny, I think I know with Penny Zeller book you’re talking about, and I want to read it! And wow, you’ve had a lot of pen pals. That’s very neat! I’m so glad my daughter has a pen pal now. She’s only 7, as is her pen pal, so the things they write crack me up. But getting a reply letter is such a highlight for her!