Almost a year ago, I uploaded my novel, The Qualities of Wood, to Harper Collins' Authonomy website. Today, I finally got my much-anticipated review from one of the editors there, and I'm happy and relieved to say that it was heartening and helpful. Some choice quotes:
"White is great with dialogue, both in terms of what is said and what remains unsaid. The undercurrents are subtle but well defined. In this respect I was reminded of Anne Tyler and Annie Proulx. Her sense of place is also strong and convincing; I feel as if I am in small-town America from the very first chapter of the book."
"I have read a great many books on Authonomy, and they can vary in quality from pretty ropey to really very good, but they nearly always need a fair bit of work to be anywhere near ready for publication. The Qualities of Wood is the nearest to a print-ready manuscript as I have read on the site."
"It really would not take a great deal of editorial tweaking to make this a strong, commercial proposition for a publisher. I was very impressed."
I'm very encouraged and quite relieved, as I actually thought the review would start something like: "Are you kidding with this? You have wasted my morning with this amateurish piece of trash...etc...etc." So this is much better.
If you'd like to read the review in full, or a bit of the story, click the link to the right. Thanks again to all the writerly friends I've made through Authonomy. Your encouragement fortified me from the start.
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