There's a Salvador Dali picture of a disconnected telephone in the middle of the desert. Writers sometimes feel like that. Is there anybody there?

So it's a real treat to hear from people who have read my books. This note, from a reader on her travels, made me laugh out loud. I have her permission to share.

Dear Tolstoy Just wanted to share some of the beauty of Morocco with you. Perhaps it will inspire you in some way.

My friend G-- and I enjoyed 'The Sheikh's Bride' so much that we passed it on to fellow backpackers. A new audience for you!

Unfortunately I was not whisked away by a handsome sheikh. Instead I was offered one hundred camels in return for my hand in marriage! Enjoy your day,

Love, N--.

I understand that she did not accept the hundred camels. Very wise. She obviously has a great career as a photographer ahead of her. These are what she sent me. Lovely, aren't they?

	Berber home on the beach at Sidi Kaoki
	Marrakesh - passageway leasing to the centre of the old city. Very crowded, polluted and noisy - yet all of these things make Marrakesh amazing! One evening the prayers from the largest mosque could be heard throughout the city from 2am until 7 am.
	The medina of Essaouira as seen from the ramparts of an old Portuguese fortress.
	...Your book. We were hooked.