The manuscript is done. Done enough for now. I would be proud of the work if it was released today. To prepare for launch day, I sent out my manuscript for reviews. It would be great to have inspired quotes raving about the work, so I could stamp accolades all over the back cover.

I check my email each day, hoping to see a response that loves the work as much as I do. Then, one day, I get two responses. My heart slams against my chest as I open the first review.

Okay. It was pretty good. There were some valid criticisms in both reviews. I can see their point. But there were a few lines that maligned the work and my decisions in presenting the material. I was incensed. I have already gone through a response on my website here and here. I am not going to rehash it again. Basically:

While I still have time, I have identified common complaints. I have made small adjustments to the framework Author’s Note, and added a few indicator sentences to shed a touch more light on the passages that show prejudice and bias against a Black woman. If people get uncomfortable with seeing injustice, or think that these moments distract from the main plot, understand that:

I am not going to spoon-feed the message. I set the premise, and illustrate the points so that the reader can come to their own conclusions. If all the reader wants to get from the experience is a slow-burn romance, that is their privilege.

I am sure, given the leaps and bounds in writing skill that I have developed over the past 31 years, had I to start this project over, the book would be in much greater shape than it is right now. I could have asked Arlinda more explorative questions at the time to really slip into a deeper understanding of the cumulative events in her life that made her who she was. Alas, all I have are the notes that I have take from her, her friends, her family, and my own memories of 18 wonderful and challenging years together.