Yours Faithfully, Amanda

January 31, 2019 Dear Jane, Happy belated New Year, my dear friend. I truly cannot believe that the end of January is upon us; this month has flown by so quickly! Even though not very much has occurred since the new year began, I do have an exciting literary adventure to recount for you. So, without further ado: A Day in New York City with J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien... If you are a lover of books, then I'm confident that I have grabbed your attention with the above italicized line. If you are not a lover of books, but rather a lover of films adapted from books, then hopefully I have also grabbed your attention. If you are a lover of neither, then I have nothing left to say to you and now must say, "Good day." I jest, of course! In truth, I am in an odd mood today, Jane, so I shall write on until I am not...or until I finish my letter (whichever comes first). On Friday last, the twenty-fifth of January in the Year-of-our-Lord, two-thousand and nineteen, I ...

December 27, 2017 Dear Jane, Season's greetings and Merry Christmas, my dear friend! But more importantly, Happy Belated Birthday! I know not if you are aware of this (I, myself, would surely lose track), but you recently celebrated your 242nd birthday on the sixteenth of December in the Year of Our Lord, two-thousand and seventeen. Quite the milestone, I must say! Happily, I celebrated your birthday in the best way possible and I shall tell you all about it in this letter. Before I get to that, however, it is also worth noting that Christmas was but two days ago and as it was my darling nephew's first, it was a most joyous occasion. And to make it even more special, we woke up to a beautiful blanket of Christmas snow which was ever so charming and festive. Being amongst my family for the holiday was the best gift I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas from the Forkers and von Gootkins! Now to return to your birthday festivities. The sixteenth of December began with an ...

June 16, 2015 Dear Jane, I regret to inform you that this letter is delivered to you from my renewed place in the "real world." I am both happy and disappointed to report that the 'Miss Nelson is Missing' tour formally came to an end on the twelfth of June in the Year of our Lord, two-thousand and fifteen, on a Friday.  Between the two of us, Jane, I do not believe we would have been able to continue much longer anyways, as our van was slowly (or rather, rapidly) breaking down. Along with not being able to shut the back door from the inside and lack of air circulation (to name just a couple of things), we also lost a tire. It was the beginning of June and we were just beginning our journey to Massachusetts. After sitting for quite a long time in traffic, we were were finally driving through Connecticut, when suddenly, one of our back tires blew out and gave us a terrible fright! (Naturally, it was also pouring rain.) Anyway, we had to quickly pull off the road, ...

March 12, 2015 Dear Jane, It is with great displeasure that I now write to you as an old maid...pray, let me explain my meaning. The last time I wrote to you I was a young and vivacious twenty-five year old whereas now I am an old, spinster-like twenty-six year old. Where has the time gone? What prospects have I to look forward to?! If I am being truly honest with myself, my prospects are no different from what they were when I was twenty-five (last week), so I shall find it within myself to "keep it together." My only solace is that I am not a financial burdern on my parents (as poor Charlotte Lucas from Pride & Prejudice  feared she was at this age) and I am not at the point where my only chance for happiness is marrying a man like the daft and dreadful, Mr. Collins. Now there is some silver lining, Jane. North Carolina Blizzard- View from the Van Anyway, life here has continued on as normal whilst I have been performing in "Miss Nelson is Missing....

February 9, 2015 Dear Jane, You will soon find that truer (and more accurate) words were never spoken, but I will expatiate on my meaning shortly, dear friend. I write to you today from the comfort of my warm apartment, which is quite lucky for I was supposed to be performing "Miss Nelson is Missing" in the state of New Jersey this very morning. (It was called off due to severe weather, although the weather was truly not so severe that it had to be called off, in my humble opinion.) Nevertheless, I unexpectedly found myself having to venture out into the cold, icy weather after I awoke. Before I continue, I confess that the story I am about to tell is not one of propriety, but I feel confident that you will bear no ill will against me for sharing my humorous tale with you.  I arose this morning like any other (although a little later than usual, thankfully) and was alerted by my roommate, Krystal, that our restroom was out of order due to a broken chain. This is w...

October 10, 2014 Dear Jane, How is it that we are already in the midst of October? I fear that time is flying by much too quickly for my liking, and I am sure that I would feel much more at ease if it moved at a more leisurely pace. It seems that if one stops to rest for a single moment, the whole day is gone, and then the next begins without anything getting done at all! It is a truly vicious cycle, Jane, but "tis life" as they say and we must be glad for there is so much good to be had in it.  As you may know, Jane, I am quite partial to the month of October. The bewitching fragrances of leaves and pumpkin in the air are invigorating and truly allow one to feel all the joys of autumn. Unfortunately, living in New York City, I have yet to breath in these fine hints of autumnal bliss. However, the smell of rubbish seems to lessen as the air gets cooler, which is something that one must always be grateful for. I am fortunate that I was able to have a nice holiday at home...

September 2, 2014 Dear Jane, Today marks the one year anniversary of  the first time I penned a (public) letter to you! I must confess that if I had not moved to New York City (one year and one day ago), I do not think that I would have begun this delightful venture, so I am very pleased that I did in fact move last September. It is wonderful to be able to read through all of my adventures from this past year and I am quite proud that I have been able to continue my correspondence with you (for we have already established how very lazy of a creature I can be at times).  Coincidentally, Jane, I arrived back in New York City from Springboro, Ohio on the same day that I moved last year (the first of September). Unfortunately, it is just as hot if not more so than it was on this day last year when I wrote to you for the first time. I know that it was in fact just as hot last year because I posted a picture about how it was so horridly humid  out that I could stick a lea...