I spent the morning at a writers' festival where she was a speaker. In the discussion with the interviewer she talked about the pleasure of comfort reading and of re-reading a book over years. I bought a book and lined up to get it signed. I said to her 'your early novels have been my comfort reading for decades - thank you'. She gave me a lovely smile.
It sounds corny but I loved it - it is not often you get a chance to say thank you to someone whose words have been in your head.