Hello, reader friends! It's been about a month since the release of Gretchen and the Bear , and I'm so pleased that people are enjoying the tale of Gretchen and Arthur! Here's something I never really knew before I was published: the making of a book is a journey down an uncharted road. You start alone, but like a Hobbit on the way to Mordor, you pick up companions along the way--people without whom you'd never make it to the Land of Published Book (which is not anything like Mordor, fortunately, because all that fire wouldn't be good for the paper or the e-reader). You are joined and encouraged by critique partners first, if you're blessed to have them. Next, your trusty first readers come along to offer help, guidance, and suggestions. The next part of the trip can be thorny and long, as you seek a publisher, but if you succeed in the quest, a skillful editor or two will saddle up alongside you for the next leg of the journey. You'll have to endure prick
