Hannie and Michael Clark are living — and writing — a love story.
The Pleasant Grove, UT, couple operate The Flower Letters, a mail-based subscription service that uses letters and postcards to chronicle a fictional World War II-era romance.
Hannie, an author, writes, designs and illustrates the content, while Michael, an entrepreneur, handles the business side.
The couple considered writing a novel but ultimately decided to tell their story through the mail.
“Getting a letter in the mail is so nostalgic,” Michael said.
The Flower Letters subscribers follow the budding romance between Audrey Rose Drollinger and Cpl. Charlie Henderson Burke, who meet at a Fourth of July Army Ranger dance in Tullahoma, TN.
As Audrey and Charlie move closer to D-Day in 1944, subscribers learn of a significant role each character will play in the day’s events — and whether they’ll live happily ever after.
The Clarks were inspired by other subscription services like Letters From Afar: An Explorer’s Tail Delivered By Mail, which is geared toward children.
“We thought it would be fun to do something sort of like that but our own thing,” Michael said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic also influenced the couple’s thinking.
“It’s been a heartbreaking year and it seemed timely with so many people shut in due to the pandemic. Maybe this could be something for readers to look forward to.”
A Flower Letters subscription costs $12 a month or $144 for one year, although the Clarks are offering a 15 percent discount for Valentine’s Day. The subscription consists of two letters a month, along with occasional surprises in each mailing and individually designed postcards that subscribers can use to connect with their own loved ones.
The service launched last August with 38 subscribers — a number that now exceeds 3,000, thanks to strong word-of-mouth on Facebook and Instagram.
The Clarks, who’ll celebrate their 17th anniversary in the spring, credit the Postal Service with helping to meet their small-business needs, including the convenience of sending multiple mailings at once.
“I have brought 3,000 letters in a box to drop in the mail to send all over the world — 28 countries to be exact,” Hannie said.
The Clarks are expecting a spike in subscriptions as Valentine’s Day approaches, especially as people seek unique gifts for their sweethearts.
And what could be more unique than a romance by mail?
Said Hannie: “Something magical happens in a letter.
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