Sorry I am late today. I just got home from a long stretch away.The hippies are gone, but Nick has some explaining to do. We'll deal with that later.
I have begun hearing from people who've received and read ARCs of The Marbury Lens. There's always something in the waiting to hear "from real people" that is a bit nerve-wracking, and I do anticipate hearing some not-too-pleasant things from some readers. But not yet.
I mean, there are some people who got very angry with me over the fact that kids chew tobacco and drink alcohol in Ghost Medicine. [Shrug. I don't know where these people live, but it's kind of how I grew up. My apologies for telling things that I lived through]. And then there were the people who got really bent out of shape about animals that die in both, that book and in in the path of falling objects.
But, guess what? (And this is not a spoiler, so don't shut your eyes) I put a dog in The Marbury Lens just to NOT KILL IT. For me, the dog (who is only in a couple scenes) serves no purpose other than NOT DYING. That's for you, Sarah (the person who got really mad at me about an animal death). I didn't kill any fictional domestic animals this go round.
Anyway, back to the comments. Last night, I spoke with a woman who told me her husband accused her of being a crack addict over The Marbury Lens. He complained that it was getting in the way of her wifely duties (she finished the book yesterday). But, she told me that the book made her feel exactly like Jack -- that she couldn't wait for him to put the glasses on again, and that once he did, she couldn't stop reading until he fell back out of Marbury.
So, that's a good thing. And it confirms to me why my own son couldn't do his chemistry homework (this is a written excuse, Professor Downs) while he was reading the book.
My complaint department likes hearing things like that.
