If you had time, I’d ask you to read all my manuscripts and tell me which one is the best. It feels like an insanely important decision, except it isn’t, is it? I have too many choices. It was easy when only one novel had been written.
As a kid I had elaborate systems to help me make decisions. What choices had I made before and what choices would I have to make in the future? Who else was involved in the decision and how would they react? What were all the possible outcomes and how much did they weigh in good and in bad? I went through this with all kinds of choices, from “What do you want for dinner?” to “Which parent do you want to live with?”
Maybe the judge who asked me the latter has never left my head.
But when I talk to you, Dear Llama, about trying to decide what manuscript to choose, it feels much less dramatic. Sometimes we don’t need someone to have the answer. We just need someone to listen.
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Why Dear Llama? Go here.
If you look above at “Opening Chapters,” you can read some of the stories I’m choosing between and chime in if you want.
Thanks for reading!
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 
THE FAIRY TALE ASYLUM!!!! That’s the one that introduced me to your work, so that’s the one I have the most attachment to. But I’d be deliriously happy with any of them, you know.
I do have a special fondness for that one.
I’ll take a gander at them over the next few days. (Besides the opening chapters, it might be helpful to have a general idea of what happens or what you’re trying to do in the remainder of the book, too. (Haven’t looked at the individual chapters yet; if you’ve already included that other info, apologies!)
I have not done that, but it did cross my mind. So, I shall put something…
Looks like “the next few days” is stretching into the next next few days. We’re going out of town on Tuesday and I’ll have them with me for that (week-long) trip… ‘Tis the season for pilgrimages to our home states, apparently!
Okay! I added some short paragraphs!
I saw – thanks! That will help with context, and just with knowing what your ambitions might be for each piece.