Addressing the audience.

[vespertine_1912]

Hi there. I'm Frank Fradella, author of Vespertine 1912I've noticed that I've had a few more people watching this thing now than I did when I started, and not all of you are known to me. That being said, welcome! Thanks for being part of something pretty unique

Comments

[dreamof1000cats]

i love the idea of the individual letters having their own individual settings and artistic environments. you should have some of the latter ones with a few bloody fingerprints. that would be the coolest thing ever!!!!!!

[newbabel]

I can't wait to assemble the book into a final body. I'll get them printed much the way that The Absent Lover is, but the interior will be full color. They'll cose me over $50 each, so this won't be anything I'll be selling, but they'll make great mock-ups for the publishers I'll be approaching.

[sicarii]

It's not that we are disappointed... it's just abrupt. like the ending is rushed.. (Neil Stephenson novels also leave me with that impression, especially The Diamond Age) I think the last few letters seemed rushed compared to the rest of the letters.. and not rushed by Mina's or Charles's impetus. something in the last letter is not balanced quite right... It leaves the reader feeling as if they missed something. I think those of us who have been reading all along understood what happened between the letters. It's just an odd feeling to describe.

This is by no means a mean-spirited criticism.. Just constructive feedback.. please do not think that we don't appreciate your work..

[birdofparadox]

I agree: I'm not disappointed, so much as sad it's over...

I do think the last letter, though, seems a bit rushed... Especially now that Charles has all the time in the world, I'd expect he'd take his time in constructing his last letter to Holmes.

I'm in love with this, though. Thanks for sharing.

[newbabel]

Thank YOU, honey. It's been an honor to have you reading along. I'm going to add an epilogue from Holmes to sort of finish things. If it turns out to be redundant, I'll just leave it out of the final.

[newbabel]

No no. I understand. And I do appreciate you taking the time to clarify your concerns. I think that the last few letters will even out once I put the book through a solid edit over the next few weeks. I think I'm also going to add a final epilogue from Holmes to wrap everything up and put it to bed.

Thanks again for your participation in the process!

[rare_reflection]

I didn't have any problems with the ending Yoda. I agree with you completely that there was no time for another letter in between the one Mina left and the one that he wrote to Sherlock Holmes.

Personally, I was just sad to see it come to an end all together. I was loving it. I think images to go with the letters or even the individual envolpes would be a wonderful idea. :)

You do not disappoint Yoda.

[newbabel]

Thank you, Rach. It's always a pleasure to have you read my stuff.

[dslartoo]

I was referred here by birdofparadox, whose judgement of first-rate reading material is generally....well, first-rate. She said this story was excellent and I agree.

I haven't caught up yet (only three or four chapters in) but I'm quite enjoying what I've read so far. Good concept, well written stuff. Thanks!

cheers,
Phil

[newbabel]

Phil - Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope that reading this entry hasn't spoiled the book for you! Do let me know what you think of the book on the whole when you're done. I live for feedback.

[dslartoo]

Not to worry -- as soon as I saw the spoiler warning I skipped the rest of it. :) I could tell, however (from the last entry, of course) that the story was finished, but that doesn't have any effect on my enjoyment of it so far.

cheers,
Phil

[newbabel]

Not quite finished, actually. By popular demand, I've decided to add an epilogue, so there's one more entry coming. :-)

[ruckerl2k]

Interesting dilemna...seems like a job for the old epilogue trick.

The last letter to Holmes is kind of an epilogue, and Mina's letter is the setup for the twist.

Whatever format you settle on for printing this gem, I would set the last letter apart to let the readers feel that suspense as lack of closure, then they will read the "epilogue" and get the twist as a bonus.

I see it like this: Reader finishes Mina's letter. Reader turns page and finds white space. Reader thinks "Oh, man! What happens after that?!" Reader turns the page again and finds the epilogue - letter to Holmes. What do you think?

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BW: I loved this. You made it work...and you made me believe Greystoke and Mina were real people.

And you're all set to overtake Anne Rice in the Vampire novel business. ;)

[newbabel]

Heh. Between this and A Capacity for Mercy, you may be right! :-)

Thanks for the comment!