I don’t mean literally, of course. But have you sent them a note? A tweet? A virtual high five?
One of the best things about this day and age is how easy it is to contact people and let them know how amazing you think their work is.
When I was little I read “Dragon on a Pedestal” by Piers Anthony. I absolutely fell in love with Xanth, the magic, the creatures and the puns. But when I got to the end of the book and found the authors note where he acknowledged his fans, their contributed puns, and said he answered every single fan letter that he could… As a little girl I couldn’t write to him. I didn’t have access to stamps and delivery boxes, and I had no idea where to send it.
Last year I finally wrote to him. It was an email, and I had a reply in less then a week. Something that could never be done when I was a little girl.
I follow a lot of my favorite authors on Twitter, Tumbler, blogs and goodreads. I’ve sent them quick tweets, gotten replies, and sometimes conversations. I feel like I know many of them as individuals. And it just makes me want to read their books even more.
The best way to give your favorite author an internet hug is to give them a nice review on their book so others can find them as you did.
And if you are a writer, artist, photographer, filmographer, etc. Show your fans some love, too. It can only help your career.
Author Crissy Moss 
This is so true! I sometimes wonder if we who are now in the middle of this very socially connected society, and who are maybe aspiring writers ourselves, I wonder if we will remember how important it was on the road to get that high five from one of our favourite authors, and make sure we give one to our own readers if we get any.
If you look at Neil Gaiman I would say yes. He is amazingly down to earth, and he is a literary super star.