The art in the gallery, above, has nothing to do with the poll, book launch, or the news for readers. But really, I’ll take any excuse to trumpet their work. The gallery showcases pieces by three of my favorite people, all of whom have generously shared their art with The Dogs of Looser Island over the years: Flower © Gini Chin All Rights Reserved; Little Charlie © Martha Spieker All Rights Reserved; and The Swing © Bonita Taylor All Rights Reserved.
Find Gini Chin’s marvelous writing, art, promo trailers (see below for her latest!), and book covers at Spot312.com, and connect with her on Instagram @gini_chin_designs and @ginichinwrites. Find more wonderful art by Martha Spieker at spiekerart.com, and on Instagram @spiekerart.
I can’t give you an end to the war (how I wish I could), or a cure for cancer (ditto), but here’s a smidge—an iota, or a fraction of an iota—of cheerful news: if you’re curious about future episodes, the Table of Contents now lists all the chapters in order, along with the name of the character whose perspective that chapter shares.1
So now you have a sneak preview, just as you’d get from a complete (i.e. not serialized) novel.
Friend and writing coach Deborah Guyol is launching Stealing Soutine, the sequel to her novel, Cary Grant Slept Here (a delightful caper with several delicious twists along the way, set mostly in a villa in France). Check out the video trailer by the incredible, multi-talented Gini Chin! Available on all the usual websites, including bookshop.org.
As we dive into Chapter 3 tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment to check in again.
My polls are not as much fun as Dave Barry’s—no Scottish-and-I’m-offended option (and anyway I’m mostly Irish, so that would never work for me)—but I’d still love to know your thoughts, if you’re willing to share them.
Episode Length. The earlier polls overwhelmingly voted for shorter episodes of 5 -7 pages. I have cheated on two episodes, as there was no natural stopping point until page 8, but I’ve mostly stuck with readers’ expressed preference. Occasionally, it sacrifices the flow (IMHO) to create a stopping point, so I’ve decided to check in again.
We are now 2 chapters and 9 episodes in. We have another 28 episodes (about 7 months) to go.
What say you, friends?
Voiceover. I love love love reading aloud. My dream job would be some combination of children’s librarian for story time and recording audio books. But I know that, no matter how many takes I do, I always make mistakes, stumble over words, etc.
Marvelous friend, musician, and engineer extraordinaire Todd Goldsmith has generously agreed to lend me his expertise and equipment, so I can improve my recordings, but even after that happens it will still be just me, with no formal training or professional qualifications.
Which means I would understand completely if readers prefer the more polished sound of Substack’s voiceover option.2
Thoughts?
Thank you, as always, for reading, for sharing your thoughts, and for joining me on this journey!
Next Saturday, Episode 10: First Do No Harm, Dr. Henry Johnson’s story.
Adopting Genevieve Macy’s love of footnotes—oh who am I kidding? I love asides, footnotes, endnotes . . . . Anyway, a reminder that the Table of Contents only shows up if you go to the website sharilane.substack.com. If you are on the app, no such luck.
If any lovely reader has a talent for acting/reading, let’s talk!
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