Jack has been toned down a bit according to Beverly's suggestions, and Sebastian is now just "a handsome cavalry officer."

Victor, there were some errors in your piece. Do you want me to post them or e-mail them to you or just tell you that I think it's very good (which I do) and leave it at that?

Thanks, Deena. Don't bother with the typos--I know about them and the guy who runs Gotpoetry is on his honeymoon, so I can't do a dang thing about them.

Soldier’s Lady is a story of star-crossed love where the right people from the wrong backgrounds meet under the wrong circumstances at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I love this, Susan.

Susan, I like the pitches very much, and I agree that it was probably best to make the suggested changes. I love the "meet in the middle" theme for Jack and Anna. I was thinking he must lose an arm when I read your drabble -- poor guy! I love a wounded -- emotionally, especially -- hero. And you have the first three chapters rewritten already! Go you.

Deb, I'd love to read what you have of the new book if you can forgive me for still reading through Matty (very slowly, obviously).

(FTR, though I admit to Marty Stu-ing Jack a bit in my first draft pitch above, I want full credit for saying nothing whatsoever about his amber-brown eyes or tuneful baritone voice.)

I've sort of lost my way. Kind of mostly feeling foolish for starting. Having enormous organizational issues. Stories are feeling so random and not coming together to form a picture, and mostly, I'm having such huge trouble thinking of interesting essays to provide transitions between essays so people who arent us know what I'm talking about.

Without a clear organizational structure, i.e, a way for a reader to get from essay to essay without confusion about Who These People Are, I'm just, GAH!

Without a clear organizational structure, i.e, a way for a reader to get from essay to essay without confusion about Who These People Are, I'm just, GAH!

Is there anything I can do to help? Cause organizing things such that there are fluid transitions is one of my obsessions.

Allyson, deep breaths. 'tis cool. The structure is the easiest thing to fix, because it can be done at the end; that's the nice thing about this kind of non-fiction work. Since there's no story arc to maintain, interstices can be done at any time.

And where is it written that you have to have essays as transitions between other essays? Anything is possible as transition, surely: interviews, for instance. Someone like Shrift, who deals with fic and fic sites. Any one of a bazillion specialty people you know who work in or around fandom. (edit: that's meant to mean that quickies conversations with other people in fandom can offer a nice interestingly lit pathway through that particular garden, for those of us who don't go deep into it.)

Not to worry about the linkage. If the essays are the core of the book, get as many of them as make you happy together first. The rest is addable.

Ooh. Deb has a sweet idea with the interviews.

Allyson, Deb's ideas of interviews is great. What about short news items, too? You might have an issue with securing rights to use them, though -- but you could take what you know and do a timeline of sorts, too. Even just a page between essays, with the simple facts: On Date Blah de Blah, Angel premiered. On Date Blah de Blah, the first Posting Board Party was held. Something like that.

Deb is totally right about structure, too -- think of it as a gorgeous handmade necklace. Everyone will want the beautifully shiny hand-painted beads; they won't care so much how it's strung together. And you'd paint the beads first, and wait to figure out what to string them with at the end. Get out the good stuff, the stuff you write so well -- the sharp, funny, wry, honest meat of it.