 The response to "Spring Fire" was beyond all Meaker's and Gold Medal Books' expectations.Meaker states she got "boxes of mail" from women who were thrilled to see a book that addressed a lesbian relationship; gay audiences weren't considered a market at this time.Paperback novels were rarely reviewed by mainstream literary reviews, but a Packer novel titled, "Come Destroy Me" was noticed by "The New York Times" crime-fiction reviewer Anthony Boucher.