In all seriousness, I have never finished a project of this magnitude so I don’t know what you’re going through. But you have to know that it’s awesome that you’ve gotten this far, even if you do decide not to continue the series (you better!!). You have a great imagination and I love that you shared it with us. My mom read the dedication to Valdez in the back and said, “That’s it, I’m never writing about Alaska again!” because she feels she can’t do it justice as you did (for the record, she’s a very good writer too and she’s been writing about Alaska for a long time, so this is not idle praise).

Take a deep breath and a long bath (in chocolate, preferably), and then ease yourself back into Aria. Maybe you should take a trip home this summer! The snow is melting and everything is green again.

Hang in there.

Nelli

Just kidding! I’m super happy to see that Murder of Crows is finished and (self) published. After reading your story, I have decided to join in on your Powell’s boycott and have fired off an angry and yet respectfully worded email to every contact at Powell’s I could find.

I hope this ends up being one of those events that you look back on and say, “Man, I am so glad Powell’s did that, I’m much better off than I would have been!”

Later!

So proud of you!

Nelli

You should not feel dirty or ashamed. I hope Portland residents read this and show Powells what they think of this economically.