He has some interesting things to say about music and narrative structure. I’d be interested to see what you think?

But in rereading all those books, I noticed that in many cases, I felt like there were 50 pages missing near the end. Especially in Fred’s Book, where there should have been a full chapter about the house he bought without telling her, and a nice chunk of character development for the ob/gyn brother and the writer friend, each.

I know that you are under a lot of pressure from editors to keep the page count down. But you are a successful author, and you are entitled to a few (hundred) more pages to finish your characters’ stories properly. I, for one, would be delighted to find a 400 page Jenny Crusie book, and I would even pay the extra buck it takes them to print it.

Speaking of Terry Pratchett, nobody dares to tell him to cut pages, even though he rambles mightily, and don’t we eat up each and every word?

You, too.

Best of luck, from a grateful and admiring reader (and her equally admiring sister)

A human can be sheepish, or catty, but if you want to describe the animal itself, you have to leave English adjectives and go off into their Latinate equivalents, e.g. feline instead of catty or ovine instead of sheepish.

http://www.alphadictionary.com/blog/?p=49

I’m trying hard to think of a way to tie this in to Zelda and Scylla…

I know people whose drive in life is precisely the fact that they grew up in a snobbish environment and who suffered a hundred small humiliations as children because of their social background — that stuff just doesn’t disappear like that. Sure, social class may not be as important in the US as in Europe, but it still matters, at least in the situation you describe. And she wasn’t only the maid’s daughter, which would look comparable to Scylla’s position, she was conceived because one of the weekend guests had fun with the maid, and hell, I had no trouble understanding why she didn’t want to set foot in that house. Yes, it happened in the 70s, when being an illegitimate child was not such a stain, but knowing exactly in which social circumstances it happenened — and constantly being reminded of it, I suppose, by seeing her mother serve the weekend guests and by being hired help herself is a powerful motivation enough.

I had no trouble reading the character and I felt for her a little more than for Scylla. The latter is wonderfully written, but I thought she came across as willfully blind to her friend’s reluctance. I get it, because for her, it’s her story and people have to play their part in it, and it’s entirely believable that Zelda downplayed the reasons why she didn’t want to go back to the house, but Scylla looks a little like someone who is all “This is my ideal scenario and you’re not going to mess with it, dammit.”

I don’t think I can.

Seems to be a bit of an ‘early Rachel and Leo’ vibe going on between Quentin and Scylla.

What was the actual outcome? We know DLD did really well, but did it flip CW the bird? Please say it did. ;+)

It’s amazing the difference the positive goal makes on a scene. Zelda seems petulant in not wanting to go into Rosemore, it’s almost childish (which makes sense given her childhood connection to the place and Rose) but it makes her seem whiny as opposed to driven. Scylla is driven and she is, by God, a famous Crusie Rat With An Island and she is swimming for all she’s worth. For those of you who don’t recognize that, look under Essays on the main page in the Books, etc. section. It’s fantastic.

So, Jenny, book done yet?

So her NEED to create those good meals goes back to her NEED to connect with her mother and those good memories from her childhood and her NEED to make Zelda happy again. She believes she can do anything with her magic box… I just love her to pieces already!