I love this email:

“Just finished Josephine B. Trilogy.  Best. Book. Ever. Couldn’t tear myself away and practically wept when I finished it. Thanks for a tremendous read.”

Thank you, Pat. It’s quite special when a reader takes the time to 1) figure out how to write to me, and 2) write. It means a lot.

A quick run-down of the day:

1) Revising The Novel. This morning I had a very helpful email from a friend, Lucy King, about Asperger Syndrome. One of my characters, the brother of my heroine, is developing in this direction. Interesting.

2) Picking out paintings for the e-book edition covers (of my own publishing venture). It’s trickier than I thought it would be. Finding works in the public domaine is the trick, and then getting high-resolution images. I think I’ve got it; I hope they suit.

Of course image research is the most delicious diversion there is. I’ve discovered so much: one, this painting by Andrea Appiani that’s thought to be of Josephine:

I was sceptical, at first, but now, after comparing the face in this portrait to other portraits of her, I’m inclined to think that it just might be. Alas, it’s unlikely that I can get permission to use it on a book cover.

3) Worrying about not being prepared for my two readings and one dinner speech this weekend in Banff, so I’ve decided that I really do need to put The Novel aside tomorrow and attend to this. I’m excited about using PowerPoint, but I’m a little nervous about it as well: I’ve never given a PowerPoint presentation before.

Ciao!