The reviews are in! Well, some of them anyway. Although I’d already received some lovely reader feedback on the new book (at Amazon, Goodreads, and in person), this week For Myself Alone got its first two professional notices: four- and five-out-of-five-stars! Phrases like “well-paced,”  “wit and vivacity,”  “laughed out loud,” and “a definite Austen flair” were bandied about.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s gone right to my head. But let me enjoy the moment…please. Allow me to bask in the praise for just a bit. I’ve worked very hard for it. And besides, I’ve been through this before; I know it’s only a matter of time before the critics swoop in with razor-sharp comments to burst my bubble. At least that’s what happened last time.

When I released The Darcys of Pemberley last August, I was thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive reviews I received… and shocked by the few vehemently negative ones. Not that I expected everyone in the world to like my book. What people enjoy reading is a matter of personal taste, and I don’t like all books either. What I didn’t expect, however, was that my mild-mannered little book would inspire any such strong, almost violent, reactions.

And I still don’t understand it, to be honest. But I’ve learned that putting up with rotten reviews is part of the game (and even Jane Austen had her detractors). So, I will take time to enjoy the terrific ones, if you please. If you’d like to see them too, read here and here.

She was invested, indeed, with the office of judge and critic, and earnestly desired to exercise it and tell them all their faults; but from doing so every feeling within her shrank – she could not, should not, dared not attempt it. Had she been otherwise qualified for criticism, her conscience must have restrained her from venturing at disapprobation.  (Fanny, Mansfield Park, chapter 18)