RUSH: We have 11-year-old, Aaliyah, from La Grange, Kentucky. Hi, Aaliyah.
CALLER: Hi, Rush.
RUSH: I’m glad you called.
CALLER: I’m glad to be talking to you.
RUSH: Well, it’s my pleasure. How are you?
CALLER: Good.
RUSH: Well, that’s good. What’s up? What’s happening?
CALLER: Oh, well, I’ve been reading your book.
RUSH: And do you like it?
CALLER: Uh-huh. I got it yesterday and I’m already halfway through. I can’t put it down.
RUSH: Really? That’s great.
CALLER: I love it.
RUSH: Oh, that’s wonderful. You are making my day, Aaliyah. You’re halfway through it and you can’t put it down, but you did long enough to call me.
CALLER: Mmm-hmm.
RUSH: What’s your favorite part about it?
CALLER: I love how Liberty is so funny and he’s so cool.
RUSH: The talking horse is fast becoming one of the favorite characters in the book. A little bit of a smart aleck, Liberty is.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: It was fun writing Liberty’s lines. I just basically had to pretend it was me. Well, you made my day. I’ll tell you, Aaliyah, what I want to do. I want to send you a copy of the audio version of the book ’cause even after you read it, you can listen to the audio version. It’s four CDs, and it takes about 4-1/2 hours to listen to it, but it’s an entirely different experience. It’s all read by me. I would like to send you one, if you would like it.
CALLER: Oh, thanks. I would love that.
RUSH: Oh, cool. All right. So what I’m gonna do is put you on hold, and Mr. Snerdley will be back, and he’ll get the address necessary for us to send it to you. I think I’ve got a copy so I can send it out to you today. Let me check. Right, here it is. I got it right here in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers. Right, there it is. So we’ll get it out to you today and thank you so much. I really appreciate the fact that you called and that you liked the book.
CALLER: Okay. Remember to keep writing books. I love it.
RUSH: Thank you. Thank you. You are so sweet. You’ve really made my day, and I can’t thank you enough. Thanks, Aaliyah.
CALLER: Thank you for writing the book.
RUSH: You bet. Have a good day. Aw. Aw, isn’t that heart melting?