RUSH: Rachel, a 12-year-old in Pittsburgh. Hi, Rachel. I’m glad that you called. Welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hi.
RUSH: How are you doing today?
CALLER: Good. How about you?
RUSH: Well, I am great. I am fine. I’m leaving on what I hope will be a real vacation after the program today. I’m gonna miss this, though. I always do. But I’m still looking forward to it. So I’m glad you got through today because it’s gonna be a while before I get back.
CALLER: Me, too. I really wanted to tell you that I just absolutely loved both of your books. I read them for my language arts. I do homeschool, so we do it on the computer. And I just loved sending it in to my teacher, and I was just so happy to read them.
RUSH: Well, that is so sweet. You have moved me. You’re touching my heart. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to feel that you liked them, because that’s obviously the point, that’s the objective. That’s so great.
CALLER: My uncle, he gave me the first book, the Brave Pilgrims, and I thought I was gonna die before I got the next one because I just loved the first one so much.
RUSH: Really? Really? You couldn’t wait for the — well, what was it you like about ’em?
CALLER: Well, I really love history, and you brought it to life so much. It was just so amazing. I was trying to get it out of the library. I’m still waiting to get it, but my uncle, he got it for me, so I was so happy.
RUSH: Well, that’s a great uncle, that is a really great uncle. Well, you have a great voice, and you’re very articulate. And I must thank you, Rachel, because you said that it comes to life, is why you like it, and that’s the exact point. The purpose of the time travel, the horse, Liberty, is to take you, take the reader right to these really important events as they are happening. And the fact that that is what you like about it is just wonderful, it’s just perfect. You know what I want to do? Do you have the audio versions that I have read? You probably don’t.
CALLER: No, I don’t.
RUSH: You don’t. Well, if you will hang on, Mr. Snerdley will get your address, and we will send you the audio versions of both.
CALLER: Oh, my gosh!
RUSH: You can listen to them. They’re on CDs, you can listen to ’em, and I’ll sign a couple of books for you, too. So don’t hang up.