6 Comments

This was wonderful, Andrew! I'm fully pulled into the story and want to find out what happens next. I love the beautiful way you describe things too, Like the way the Titian light dances on the waves, the rain slanting silver needles. And each character is so distinct they come alive in my mind.

Has this been published somewhere? If so I'd love to purchase and read, either in print or ebook. If not, I'll continue to read online, but that's not my favorite way to read novels--on my desk-top or cell phone. I like to kick back in a chair or cuddle up in bed to read.

BTW, I love the cover too. It drew me in as well, although I had to look up the meaning of the title!

Expand full comment

Ah Deborah! Thanks so much for reading these chapters and for responding with such kindness. Somehow I missed seeing this when you sent it. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner to express my gratitude.

At present, Amanuensis only exists here on Substack. But I plan to publish it as part of a story collection someday. You're not the only one who told me they needed to consult a dictionary about my title. After hearing that a few times, I changed it for a while but thought better of it later and changed it back.

If you do decide to stick with it online, you may find it easier to navigate through the episodes via the link at the end of each section. Sorry for the inconvenience. This story was an early experiment with daily online installments over several weeks. I learned a lot. But like you, I prefer to curl up with an ebook or print version. Anyway, thanks so much again. I really appreciate your kindness!

Expand full comment

I will look forward to reading it here on Substack then. I want to find out what happens next! I’ve thought of serializing my novel too, but decided to self-publish it instead. I’ll probably post some chapters now and then, and possibly serialize some short stories (which are rather long!) we’ll see. It’s nice to have these options, ways of getting our work out there for others to read.

Expand full comment

Thanks so much again, Deborah. I hope you enjoy the rest of my novella. I'll look forward to seeing your short stories in future, too. It is good to have these online options. What I value most, perhaps, is reader feedback. Writing is a solitary venture. Sometimes you find yourself writing in a vacuum. It's good to be reminded that we're writing for our own time to be read by today's readers.

Expand full comment

I totally agree. That feedback is so important Jacque Lacan once wrote something like, the purpose of language is not to inform but to elicit responses (I’ll have to try to find the exact quote.) But that’s what I believe too. Without the response, it does feel like we are writing in a vacuum, like you say.

I just posted a very short story today—hoping it will elicit some responses.

Expand full comment

Thanks for letting me know, Deborah. I’ll check it out.

Expand full comment