How you're helping improve this book

Many hands make light work, as the saying goes. But what book drafts need are many eyes.

Everything makes perfect sense to the author because the words came out of their head. No matter how many times they re-read, they're not going to catch all the stuff that will trip readers up.

That's why I'm so grateful to all of you who offered to be early readers of All the Many Ways, my new fantasy romance novella with a choose-your-own-adventure flair.

Here are just a few of the oopsies you've identified so far:

• A "swam" of figurative butterflies

• A callback reference in one path of the story to something the characters talked about earlier ... except that happened in a different path

• The case of the unintentionally disappearing garters and the intentionally (but confusingly) disappearing grandfather

I'm making a list so I can fix the issues, and meanwhile I'm getting a kick out of seeing which parts made you laugh or swoon or get a bit 🥹.

If you're wondering whether it's helpful: Yes, very much.

And if you volunteered to read and haven't quite finished yet (or you finished but, oopsie, forgot to send it back to me), it's not too late.

Each reader brings their own expertise, life experiences and preferences to a book. No one will see a story exactly as you do.

Before I go back to improving All the Many Ways thanks to the excellent feedback, here are some of the parts you marked as favorites:

His face gives every impression of polite, dispassionate interest. Except for the tiny curve of the left side of his mouth.

And: Now there are ten more things you have to try not to think about, from the warmth of his body to the way he slips seamlessly into stride with you to the hint of cloves in every inhale. (What just universe would allow him to smell like the home you’ll never get back?)

And this exchange:

“I’m not sure how they ended up with such a competitive, backbiting son.”

“I only bit you once,” he objects, though his lips twitch. “And I was four.”

(Have I mentioned before how much fun it is to write banter? So much fun.)

Thank you for helping—not just me but also the readers who come after you. You've saved them from swams of butterflies. A feat to be proud of.

You made it to the end! You're awesome. (Of course.) And oh hey, here are my latest books and here are all my book gifts to you.

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