Hey Deb--Matty Groves got a good review in the November issue of Romantic Times Book Club (which, naturally, hit my mailbox Oct. 1). Seen it yet?

Seen it yet?

They reviewed it? COOL! Nope - is it online?

edit: "Not yet available online". But four stars - yay!

They give two paragraphs of plot summary, followed by:

Grabien successfully mixes English history with an intense paranormal mystery. The pieces of the novel come together neatly and succinctly when present-day drama reveals past events. With its smooth plot, this ghost story will captivate even those readers who don't believe in ghosts.

Excellent! I don't think they looked at the first two, so it never occurred to me they'd look at this one.

Thanks, Susan. And goodonya for those sex scenes.

Question for the group: A friend has pointed me to a site that publishes hard-boiled stories. I have some drabbles I could expand, mostly for the practice and to fulfill a goal of publishing fiction in 2005(they can't pay me) But my question is this: I went through the archives as I now always do, and they have yet to publish a woman, just a bunch of guys named Jack and etc. So do I want to send them a story *about* a woman, or, say, a Mallory story, which would allow me to blend in with the crowd a little first? Because I'd say Tommy is the best male character I've ever created.Though I'd love the mindfuck of being published for that drug dealer story, being that we are as different as different could be(Not right for this site though) and everybody would boggle that somebody like me has a little Clayvon in her(and I don't mean porn).

erika, my thinking is that, so long as you do it well enough, you can do it any choice you make. If it's tough enough, and well-written enough, that is, and I trust you for both.

Teppy! Monday! New topic?

Have we done "bones" yet?

I decided to flesh out my original "behind the door" drabble this time, which is sort of playing it safe as a Guy Story, but with my own spin. And I have a beginning already so that saves me half a day's mindfucking, which, in these troubled times, is an important consideration.(I need to pace myself on that or I'll be bald by mid-term elections, and on my fifteenth draft of the book, too.)ETA: And there is plenty of time for me to show them my rack once we like each other, you know?

Actually, for this week's drabble topic, I'm going to go back to one we've already done, though it was a year and a half ago. That *should* be enough time elapsed that the resulting drabbles will be fresh and new.

If you don't like the idea of repeating a topic, please say so, and I'll come up with something new.

But for now --

Challenge #77 (behind the door[s]) is now closed.

Challenge #78 is a blast from the past, the very first drabble topic: two people are sitting at a table, opposite each other.

Hit it.

Have begun the final full chapter of Cruel Sister. Then the epilogue, and then done.

Please Jebus and all the gods of small things, don't let this damned thing suck.

Go, Deb! I am confident it will not suck.