I love 'Acres of Diamonds'! It makes me think of Hollywood in the twenties. And it was Fitzgerald who wrote The Diamond As Big As the Ritz. He's a Minnesota boy, so that's how I know. ;P

It's fun to see you so excited about your work. It's hard to explain to people who don't write how thrilling it is when the writing flows. It's magical. Hurray!

Thanks Kay for backing my book 'The Witch of Fleet Street.'

I have put 'The Fortune of Annacra' on my WL to read.

Carol J

Hello dear Kay
I checked out the website - Farrar, Straus & Giroux - and it looks like they cater to children and young adults. They look good, old and prestigious. Let me know if you want me to help with anything.
Been busy at work so not a lot of time to be on Authonomy for long spells. I'm reading all the Daniel Silva novels - almost to the last of the series, though they are stand alone stories - with the same characters. I enjoy his writing style.
How are you? Hope things are going well. Today I get to watch Diesel the bulldog - Leo and Johnny (our son) are out and about ... I suppose I'll have to give him a bath as well.
Hugs and love
jenny xx

"If only someone important would read the whole damn thing."

Aint it the truth, sister. Aint it the truth. :D

I'm just so fascinated and impressed by your casual stories about working in films and in strange and possibly exotic locales. I'm a little surprised, in fact, that you didn't use that as a springboard to your fiction. However, I know full well that unless the imagination is engaged by a subject, there's no point writing about it. Still, it's fascinating to me.

I love the story about FDR, what a great touch. My father-in-law was an MP at FDR's funeral. He looked like a fifteen year old Jimmy Stewart. :o)

:) You will be okay!

You have no idea how much I appreciate this message. I have been on this site for 1 1/2 years. I have had problems with only one person. I have been targeted several times. When this last war started I tried to keep my cool and just joke through it but it got so bad that I began to lose it. There are things going on that people don't know about and I tried to bring this out in the open. People who hate each other then attacked me (together) with a vengeance This is probably best because you might have been targeted if you remained on my shelf. I looked for a private E-mail for you but didn't see one. There is much under the surface and I wish I had never gotten on the forums. It is not a good idea. You have an excellent book and it should have reached the desk long ago. It is just a hand full of people and I think it has a lot to do with jealously and just plain meanness. There are many good people on here but they are afraid to come forward. If you want to delete this after you read it I will understand.
Shirley

Too funny about the lost ending. I've done that and then kept a pen and paper by my bed to write down my inspirations. The problem was that after I'd written down my musings, they were impossible to read because I was half asleep when I wrote them. My luck in a nutshell.

Have you given any thought to self publishing?

Hiya Kay,

I've been meaning to revisit to comment further on 'Fortune', I don't know if comments count for much, but the more the merrier and if it helps... see you moving up charts a little bit:)

Max

Green means go, baby! Wahoo!

Kathy

Kay,

You are a good writer with a great story and a you're sweetheart on top of it. Truly not fair. :)

I have to admit I find this an odd place. Fascinating and addictive, but odd nonetheless. The ranking system baffles me. It seems inadequate yet it's hard to imagine how to create a better one. Here's hoping whatever they put in place will allow good books to rise through the ranks a little faster. But to what end? The more time I spend here the more I realize that the ring above the ED is really tarnished brass. Apparently there's very little reward other than a lack luster review and a feeling of relief for having reached goal's end. For me, the true reward here has been the immediate assistance and affirmation of fellow aspiring authors. And of course meeting lovely folks...like you for example!

Enough chit chat. I should get back to that other story and my Lilibet. I'm a little stuck. I'm thinking I might post it here to get some feedback regarding a brief couple moments involving a location shoot. Since I Know absolutely nothing about the movie business and I'm pulling those descriptions out of my post menopausal arse, I think I need the help of film folk like you to point out the places where I've gone horribly astray. Sigh.

Have a lovely week and never doubt your story and your gift. They are both delightful.

Your cyber friend,

Kathy

Hello dear Kay - I was gone for a couple of days too. I've been busy here but at the end of the day I wonder what I have done ... Silly. You should try that agent - if you need to use my address let me know. You have my email in case you want to get in touch that way. It is worth a shot Kay - do it. You just never know ...
It's Mother's Day here today --- Leo and our kids are taking me out to dinner, very sweet. I do miss Mum on days like this. Did I ever tell you I've been finding pennies ever since she went? Today I found another on the floor - where I had passed earlier - I find these pennies everywhere. Sometimes when I get into work, there is one on my chair. I know she is watching over me - she was an angel on earth - so caring and kind and loved to do nice things for people.
Okay friend - let's do the agent thing. I know it is a pain, but keep the faith Kay. I've been reading some best sellers - bad writing in many of them but they get published. You could try a few online ones too ... many of them only want email submissions. They take a while to respond, but we must keep plugging away.
Take care sweet lady. Don't hesitate to let me know if I can help with hard copy submissions. I know the ropes :)
Warm hugs and love
jenny xx

Hi Kay,

Just wanted to let you know I've read a bit further into your book and laughed aloud when I read the name Lilabet. What is they say about great minds? I've recently started working again on a story I'd started and abandoned a few years ago and one of the characters, a young girl of seven is named...you guessed it!

Here's hoping you're having a lovely spring and that Annacara's Fortune will soon be on the rise. I can't for the life of me figure out what has got it so mired, it's a puzzlement.

Take care and best always,
Kathy

Hey Kay,

I don't know how proactive it is. I just like to keep trying to get things publishing-wise done. Otherwise I feel like I'm back sliding. It's kind of like having a lottery ticket. You can only dream about it if you have one in hand. Hopefully I have a better chance with the book at getting something done though. :-)

Be well,

John Breeden II

Ah sweetie - how can I go to China and leave Leo? He will get buried under junk and I won't be able to find him when I get back. Talk about opposites - I am such a clean freak and he and the kids are very laid back - drop things all over and Hazel the maid (me) has to go around. I throw everything into a large box at the bottom of the stairs so they are good at treasure hunting. Our son John is a little bit more like me but has a long way to go.
Glad to see your book up. Leave it there Kay - it will rise. And you just never know, some agent may be looking and may want to give it a whirl. Never give up faith in yourself and don't compare yourself to a lot of "wannabes" who love to write but cannot spell and construct sensible sentences.
Are you contacting agents and publishers? Have you tried any in the US? Many take electronic submissions now - it's worth a shot. I've just been working with contacts in India.
For the recovery I downloaded Repair Microsoft Word and that was it. I lost all the paragraph settings, punctuation marks, but I was able to finally get it all back to the way it was.
Sounds like you have a very fancy computer (ahem). Mine is an old Dell laptop, that chugs along like a sweet old nag. But the desktop I have at work is fancy and fast and I have some tech gurus who help me out when I mess things up.
The sun is out today and the naughty robins are flying around - sunshine really does help to cheer one up.
Warm hugs and love
jenny xx

Hey Kay,

Yes, the files might still be there, but there is less of a chance now. I guess take it somewhere and give it a try.

You won't believe what happened. I got the blue screen of death on my computer when it booted today. So weird since it happened to you too. Anyway, I just did a full backup about a month ago, so I did not lose too much, though it is a pain getting everything over to the new system. Computers just are not being nice to us these days. :-)

I see that the folks who got to the desk the month before me got their reviews, so I may be next. The ones that were made public were pretty harsh, but it's clear that the editors do seem to be really reading the books now. Before the reviews seemed kind of glossed over. So I guess we will see what happens. I've started sending out new queries to agents again just in case, and incorporating my publishers weekly review into it, so that's a good thing.

I will be thinking good thoughts for you.

Best,

John

P.S. you have a 152 IQ? That's cool. All my friends are smarter than me. I am a lowly 135, so the idiot of mylittle group of friends. haha

Dear Kay - I enjoy the gabby-gab-gab. I can be a bit of a motor mouth myself ... My neck is better but today it has rained all day and it looks like winter has returned ... so the bones start acting up - I could be a good weather vane.
I used a Word recover program for my manuscript. It was downloadable so free, which I love. I hope you can get your work back. It really is never lost, it's just a matter of finding the right software to recover it.
I'll try to put in Mucky-Muck somewhere. Mine is not a very cheerful book, but it does pick up in Part 3 where she meets a man who helps her get her life back. I suppose he could be the big mucky muck or the grand poobah.
I just finished reading John Grisham's The Racketeer. Whew what a lot of twists and turns. A great story that had me turning the pages dying to know what was coming next. He is a good writer. Another one I enjoy is Daniel Silva - I have read most of his work. Quite a lot of intrigue.
I'm glad to see your book is still on my shelf :) We must get it to the desk -- I will ask all my "friends" to help. No harm in that.
I'll let you know about China. Don't know if I can be gone that long ... Leo will trash the house and we will be put on the Hoarders show ... ha! But the $$$ are good. A friend of mine is there and absolutely loves it ... so we shall see.
Take care sweetie. Stay in touch.
jenny ♥♥

Hey Kay,

Just checking in to see how it went. Were you able to save your files?

Be well,

John

I was trying to end with:
Balmy weather is here at last - about time. You should come and visit the US Kay ... read your work to a couple of classes.
Hugs and love
jenny ♥♥

I shouldn't be so gabby and long winded!

Oh I am so glad "mucky-muck" made you laugh. I suppose I am dating myself - using a lot of Mum's terminology. Another one was "the cat's meow" or the "cat's whiskers." If someone tried to pull the wool over Mum's eyes, she would say: Does he think I'm the fool from Ticklebury Town? Wherever that was.
I also like Grand Poobah ... But Mrs. No. 10 - I think that's Bo Derek darling, and I look nothing like her. I wish ...
Got a small pad looking thing that does some sort of shiatsu twirling, grinding into the muscles - seems to have helped. The chair is 1000 dollars - yes, I could use a card. But it seems like such a lot of moolah.
Kay, please DON'T remove your book. That would be such a shame. Hang in there my friend. I am not popular on the forums otherwise I would plug it like nobody's business. I am asking my friends to read and support your book - no pressure, but no harm in asking. David Seaby is very sweet - and very sincere - I am glad he shelved your book. He loves to help and gives very good and intelligent tips.
Yesterday, I was offered a job in China - teaching conversational English for a semester at one of the big universities there. Can you imagine ... if only I were younger. I have no spirit of adventure these days. Don't like the hassle of flying/living out of a suitcase unless Liz goes too - she is patient with her old mum and I just go blindly following her from place to place. Anyway, I am thinking about it.
YES - you can recover your work. The only thing may be that the font will change and your dash-es will turn into little squares and the quotation marks will change too. You will have to go through the whole document and re-insert all that. A real pain, but at least you will have your document back. I've done it a couple of times - so I know. If you work on various computers you could also lose your work - let me know if you recover it.
Balmy weather is here at last - about time. You should come and visit the US Kay ... read your work t

KC,
I will reback and will support you till you make the ED. For now, I wanted to help out Jenny.
Regards,
John