erika, that feeling is inevitable, especially with first novels. Any honest writer is going to look at the finished product and think, uh-oh, what did I steal and who did I steal it from...?

We all do it. Don't worry - when it gets to the editor's desk, she'll let you know.

Well, I'm not consciously trying to avoid her, by any means. (Well, except insofar as my "avoid Rifle fiction until I'm done writing it" rule keeps me away from one of my favorites among her books.) I've read a good chunk of her output, and I have 2-3 of her books on my TBR shelf right this minute. t shrugs I think I can acknowledge her importance to the genre while simultaneously acknowledging that I connect more strongly with Austen or even Patrick O'Brian. And that insofar as I dare to name myself in the same breath as the great ones, my natural style/voice comes much closer to theirs than to Heyer's.

(didn't need to say it twice)

I mean, I really respect those people. If there's a homage to somebody, I don't think that is so awful.(My character's fake name is "Marlo Phillips" after all.) What I don't want is people reading along like "Another Grafton wannabe. Boring."

Wow. March just handed me more good news...

Dear Ms. Taylor:
We would like to use your submission, "Letters from the Past," as a "Snapshots" feature in a future issue of English Journal. More details will follow in the coming weeks, including the official acceptance materials, but I wanted to inform you of this decision now. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely, Theresa Kay

Thank you SO MUCH. You all helped me so much when I was editing this piece.

That's great news, Kristin!

Yay! Kristin, congrats. Also to Susan for 100 pages.

Woohoo, Kristin!

Woo hoo Kristin!

And Susan!

I read that yesterday, Susan, but I forgot to say anything. I think 100 pages was when I knew I wasn't going to stop writing it. Because that is a lot of time to throw away.