Fan Mail

I got this message from an apprentice who was given my book on her first day at work:

I am an apprentice piercing artist here in northern Michigan and I have to say your book has honestly become my bible! It is with me at all times at work. I have to thank you for writing this book and making it available. My boss handed it to me my first day of work when I was busy milling through piercing supply catalogs, by the end of that night I had read the entire book. I am currently reading it again actually!

I have just typed up all of my aftercare sheets, and they all have a simple comment at the bottom "This aftercare program contains information obtained from "The Piercing Bible" by Elayne Angel." I hope this little comment catches my customers interest to read your book as well :)

I am hoping to become APP certified and I am doing everything in my power to become the best piercer I can, thank you!
- Jenn

My reply:

I got this message from a new friend I met on Fetlife. I just signed up there and I'm enjoying answering questions for people in the Body Piercing and Body Modification groups.

I know you must get so much mail such as the one I am writing you, but unfortunatly (hopefully not too much so) this is yet one more.

I wanted to personally thank you for the absolutly incredible work that you have done for the piercing community, though I cannot speak for any group as a whole, I can still thank you for all you have done for me. Your work and dedication to the art of body piercing inspired me at a young age. Reading your articles in magazines and buying my first copy of your book changed my outlook on what I wanted to do with myself.

I am aware that all of this seems rather deep (and understanbly creepy) But the chance to send you a message was one i simply could not pass up. In many places around the world your word is held in the highest esteem, and in my world more then any other this is so. I wont even go into the unarguable fact that you have done so much to make the art that I love what it is today. I have dedicated myself fully, in mind and body to following and growing and maybe one day leaving a mark on people much as you have.

If I manage to ever be half as skilled and artistic as you, I would be far above where I am today. Again, thank you for what you have done. Without a doubt I am one of your most avid fans, and being able to send you an email is undoubtably one of the absolute coolest things.

I just got another great message from a Facebook friend:

Hello! I wanted to say 'thank you' for providing me with the most important tool in my apprenticeship....your book. My mentor was a great help, but many times I found myself seeing something that I just felt was not right. I use your book to guide me in those situations. As the author, I hope that it will make your day knowing that the pages are dog-eared and it has barely lasted the length of my apprenticeship. Thank you !

My reply:

Hi Deena,
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that my book has proved so useful to you. I really appreciate it!

If there are questions you have that weren't answered in the book, feel free to ask....

Sincerely,
Elayne

Elayne Angel, Author
The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing
Medical Liaison, Association of Professional Piercers

elayneangel@piercingbible.com
http://piercingbible.com/
http://www.facebook.com/elayneangel
http://twitter.com/elayneangel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorelayneangel

I got this lovely message, which I guess I have to label "fanmail" from a Facebook friend:

Hey there, thanks for friending me. It's nice to see my biggest inspiration on Facebook. Love the book btw, I just bought another copy for my girlfriend who is starting her apprenticeship. You've helped me with so much in the past, and I feel to be so much more educated because of it.

I'm sure you don't remember viewing my photobucket portfolio, but the comments you responding to me in the return email helped alot, and the fact that you took the time to do it was awesome. Keep doing what your doing. I love it. Educate the world, this industry needs more people like you to go above, beyond, and inspire piercers like myself to do the same. Medical courses, the in depth attention to proper aftercare, and so much more.

It's sad to see some "piercers" that don't take that kind of initiative to achieve what you have. Keep in touch, you're a beautiful person, a master of the trade, and an asset to this industries growth and popularity. Thanks again for everything.

John

This one speaks for itself (I think I'm blushing.)

I received this message from a Facebook friend:

The design for my website www.piercingbible.com is just about to be updated, and that's surely for the best. But, one slightly sad (but unavoidable) thing that is that my old Guestbook will be no more, and the posts will be unavailable. Some related good news is that all of my previous blog posts will still be available in the archives on the updated site. So, I've decided to make a blog post "Best of the Guestbook" to preserve some of the entries. Here we go!

I was reading a public profile of a young man on an online dating site. He seems like a cool dude, studying computer science with a desire to be a professional piercer. I'm not actually looking for a date--I'm happily married. But I did notice that among his self-summary and favorite foods and music, he listed his favorite books, which included The Piercing Bible:

Books: demonata series and the pendragon series. Oh, and the piercing bible. WAY better than any other bible. It has FACTS.