JC (I trust that this is sufficiently anonymous that I'm not subjecting anybody to unwanted attention) sent me an email with a comment that was provocative enough that I spent some time composing an response. I hit the send button and went on with my affairs (including trying to get through some much needed revision on Chapter 19).
A few minutes later I noticed return email from JC in my inbox. I was curious about his response so I opened it and found this:
I apologize for this automatic reply to your email.
To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand.
In the long run, this is not a big deal. The frustration of wasting my time composing a message that won't be delivered will be quickly forgotten.
Still I have to wonder, why anyone would use a service to handle their email that's going to intercept return messages. To say nothing of one that treats their correspondents this rudely.
Chapter seven of Book III of TTHP has been submitted. In it, you'll find references to two paintings. If you're interested you can see them for yourselves. The first is a Jackson Pollock painting and the second is by Pablo Picasso.
No story of mine would ever be complete without the usual crop of typos that somehow manage to elude my editors and me. (In defense of my editors, many of them are errors I introduce after they worked the story. I just can't leave good enough alone.) There are a number of readers, both anonymous and nonymous, who send me corrections when they find problems in the posted chapters. I am way very extremely grateful.
If other readers notice errors, I hope they'll consider dropping me an email.
In chapter three, Jake, Kara and Leanne talk about a Henry Moore sculpture. Here is a photo of one that is similar in style. Of course, the photo shows a much larger sculpture than the one in the Book III.
I received the following email in response to my unnecessarily snarky blog post from yesterday.
Actually.. lol I think they were asking more how
we got from the end of book 2 to the beginning of
book 3. I mean why was Jake suddenly in France
hobnobbing with the powerful and political. I
kinda wondered if I had missed something myself.
So how about another blog with a short bridge? lol
Dave
I applaud Dave for his insight. With his message in mind I reread Anonymous's email and decided that, yes, Dave is right. Anonymous was asking what happened between the end of Book II and Book III.
The answer is not much. About a month elapses between the two stories, during which Jake takes Ellen on the trip to France that he promised back in Book I. You do remember chapter 19, right? June 2nd? That’s when Jake learned that Ellen has always wanted to go there and found himself, thanks to Jerry Amos, suddenly with the means to make it happen. As for how they found themselves at the reception, I would simply ask, would you pass up the chance to meet the first lady of France if you could make it happen?
So, Dave, thanks for bringing your capable reading comprehension to bear. Would you be available to be an advanced reader for the next story? I obviously would benefit from your good judgment.
Regards,
hermit
