Dear Mr. Bradbury,

I grew up in the migrant farm town of Delano, California, in the 70's and 80's. As a kid I'd go to the Delano public library and read your shorts. I was fascinated by things like cities that ate people and worlds where a whole life was lived in 11 days. But that wasn't it. Again and again, your far out words had a human element that I identified with. That kept me coming back for more.

Then one day, quite by a happy accident, I was at that same library when you walked in the library doors. You spent the entire afternoon talking to a group of us kids, mostly Hispanic, about the trials and tribulations of your writing. You talked about using dimes to write Farenheit 451 as quickly as possible in the UCLA basement.

For the first time, I realized that these books of yours that I was reading weren't some far off, mysterious thing done by Gods and Goddesses. They were something I could create myself. It was one of the greatest revelations of my life.

I was incredibly inspired to use my imagination and begin writing. I did. First, I wrote one acts, then short films, then feature films. You coming through those doors helped make me who I am today.

Who am I today, you may ask? I'm a 31 year old writer/director. I wrote and directed a sci-fi cult movie a few years ago called "Six String Samurai". It did well, played Slamdance and got a theatrical release. More recently, I'm just finishing "The Crow: Wicked Prayer", with Dennis Hopper, Eddie Furlong, David Boreanez, and Tara Ried.

I still today love stories that combine the unreal and fantastic with the human heart. Thanks to you, sir, I learned that the two things don't have to be seperate, and in fact, they are really one in the same.

I recently saw your two one acts in Sherman Oaks, and I'd hoped to meet you there. I'm friends with Walter Beery's son, who played Father Leary in "Drunk and In Charge of a Bicycle."

It's always been one of my dreams to at least let you know what an affect you've had on my career. I sincerely hope you get this message, just as I hope you continue to inspire poor kids in small towns all around the world, for generations to come.

Lance Mungia

Lance, first of all, welcome to the board. We hope to hear from you often. I would recommend you write a letter to Ray to tell him what you told us in your post. He does not check these postings and is not interested in the internet much at all. I've heard that he sometimes answers fan letters though. I enjoyed your story about how you met Ray and what an influence he has had on your life, and I know he would appreciate hearing about it. Is your movie available for rental or shown on tv ever? I would love to see it. Best wishes!

Thanks for the welcome. I wrote Ray a letter at the same time I posted here yesterday, to raybradbury@harpercollins.com, is that the right address to use?

You can get Six String Samurai at amazon.com, and a bunch of other places online. You can also find it at most Suncoast Motion Pictures and Borders. Some videostores have it, especially specialty videostores. The Crow, you cannot find yet, because we're actually still in post on it. the special effects have been taking months longer than originally thought, which is very frustrating, let me tell you. It will be out next year.

Thanks again,

Lance Mungia