I think we've decided that the title essay will be an introduction, and to make it a bit more explanatory about internet communities and fandom in case we strike oil and get some mainstream readers.

So the historical stuff will be incorporated into the title piece.

Allyson, that sounds exactly right for placement and continuity.

Can I read when done?

Please yes!

Yeah, I think that will work really, really well.

What It Takes

So you're tired, are you? You've been onstage two hours, playing in the band, and you're wiped, at the edge, stick a fork in you, you're done?

Arms in use, were they? Holding a Strat, a Paul, a P-bass, two hours, two-twenty, synching up with the rest of the band, drumsticks as extensions of your arms, twirling the mic, keeping your wrists arched above the piano keys?

Tired? Sure. I get it, baby, believe me.

But in the end, this is what you are, not only what you do. That joyous noise is what you flex; music is a muscle.

The deadline for submissions to Autumn Issue of "The November 3rd Club" is October 10th. Take a gander at our Submission Guidelines and keep us flush with things to read and (hopefully) publish.

The new issue goes life on or around Halloween -- just in time for the election!

As always, this issue of the "November 3rd Club" will be brought to you by your hardworking editors:

Victor D. Infante (editor in chief) Carlye Archibeque & Richard Modiano (nonfiction) Lenore Weiss & Steve Berman (fiction) Ray McNiece & Richard Beban (poetry) Sam Hamill (contributing editor)

Woot! Hadn't realised, when I posted the Library Journal review, that it's a starred review.

And Booklist ran its review, as well:

Traditional musician Ringan Laine is also an expert on period architecture, which is why his partner, Penny, asks him to help her brother and his new wife build a Tudor-style manor house in London's newly trendy Isle of Dogs neighborhood. As he begins to work on the project, Ringan is troubled by visits from the ghost of a long-dead Italian musician, who may be an ancestor. It seems that the Isle of Dogs was the site of a bomb accident after World War II. It also appears to be the location of some tragic events involving the Italian musician and assorted young women during the reign of Henry VIII. Ringan and his associates must put the ghosts to rest before he suffers the fate of his Italian relative. As she did in Matty Groves (2005), Grabien blends folklore, music, suspense, and the supernatural to create a genre-bending mix of historical mystery and ghost story. Fans of both will be pleased. (Reviewed September 15, 2006) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

I'll take that, you bet.

Congratulations deb! I don't see you much anywhere else, but I've devoured this thread over the last week, and it's been good to read your voice.

Heh. I love your Lovett tagline.

No, I don't really post anywhere else here; F2F now and then, but only when it's pertinent.

Just popped in here to exhale a sigh. The Daymond thing, Seven Women, is coming up on 9,000 words, which means I'm over a third through with what the agent needs to shop to editors. She wanted it for October; she may not get it until November, though, because I'm going to be out promoting Cruel Sister.

I've had it for a long time. It's just...particularly apt right now.

I envy you (in a good way) your productivity. If someone wanted me to have something finished by November, even if I were a third of the way through, I'd be reorganizing all the playlists on the iPod and have a sudden urge to research Welsh grammar.