In addition to her email critique, Mary Balogh sent me a hard copy of my manuscript with extensive specific comments. I need to send her an email letting her know it got here safely and maybe offering to send her some of my pumpkin bread as a token of my gratitude. The only thing is, I agree with much more about her big picture suggestions of what needs to be changed than her specific ideas on how to change it--which is probably only natural, given that our styles and voices are very different. Do I need to even address that fact, in case I publish this story and she reads it and thinks, "Dang it, I spent so much time on her critique, and here she does the exact opposite of what I thought she needed to do, and there she kept that bit I said was totally unbelievable!" Or do I just thank her profusely, say she's given me a lot to think about, make sure she's not allergic to pumpkin/chocolate/eggs, and leave it at that?

Susan, just thank her and leave it at that. Whatever edits she suggested were her opinion, and if you don't agree with every one, there's no reason to bring it up. If the book gets published, yay! And at that point, I think MB would simply be happy for you, not pissed off that you didn't take every word of her advice, since presumably an editor would have her own two cents to contribute.

Amy, will send. And BoM is stewing, yes.

Shit. I just laid a bit of a gauntlet down with my agent. This is going to possibly get tricky.

About Kincaid, Deb? Or in general?

I meant to say earlier, too, I'm sorry about Still Life. But you've heard my rant on genre and marketing and all that.

About Kincaid, Deb? Or in general?

Kinkaid. Insending. Would love your opinion.

Thanks, Amy! Will do.

Sure thing. Will keep an eye on email...

It's terribly hard to be productive when AMC is airing The Hitcher and Rutger Hauer is being evil!sexy and murderous. The hero in my novella is going to chop off someone's finger any minute now...

The Hitcher and Rutger Hauer

"Where do you come from, John?"

"Disneyland."

dying

Insent. I wish I could run some of this past Marlene, but she's in Naples, Florida, without power or phones.

Deb, long and probably rambling response backflung.

Ugh. I just wrote most of a chapter, and realized it's so slowly paced it's boring even to me.

So much for an afternoon of work. I seem not to be in a "creating sexual mood" at all.