Attagirl! To thine own self be true. If only poor eric could manage to follow that same advice! But then, as his sister has hinted, perhaps he already is! I've read enough of this genre to know that there are more and more humiliations coming his way - his first salon pedicure, for exanmple! Or surely Julie would not subject him to that!

Well, I have a rather clear idea of where "Reversals" will end. I can't say the entire plot has revealed itself yet because the characters influence that somewhat as I get into each chapter. That influence can, of course, impact subsequent chapters. Julia has actually surprised me a bit by her cruelty. I know that might sound a bit strange to somebody who hasn't tried their hand at writing yet but it's true, at least for some writers, certainly for me. Thus, I'm not so much influenced by requests. Don't get me wrong, I love my readers and I respect them more than you know but I can't allow the story to be shaped by requests or demands for "more". I do find requests fascinating however and they might well suggest other stories to me so please keep them coming.

The real challenge is to avoid becoming cliche, and keeping the whole thing believable. (Which I would say you certainly have done to this point.) Another danger is trying to satisfy the constant demand for "more. more. more"

Thank you for responding so quickly. If I may, a friend of mine, who is a published author, once told me his trick to keep writing on schedule: he would, every day, alternatively, write for at least fifteen minutes freely, just putting on the screen whatever in his mind concerning the story, not even bothering to properly format it. The day after that he would edit it, cut whatever he found was garbage or simply unnecessary.

Hope it helps!

Thank you so much Nancy. I really appreciate it. I totally agree regarding how characters develop. Julia is really something. Working with her has been "interesting". Also, thanks so much for offering co-writing and reviews. I very much appreciate it. Right now, I have a system going with somebody I've known for years doing critiques for me and I'm not sure I "play well with others" when it comes to my writing. But, if I get to where I need another reviewer I'll totally keep you in mind.

Hi Rachel, I admire your writings and am touched how you wrote the first part of reversals. It is amazing and the quality is far beyond the others I've reed on our favorite story site. I ve tried to write something myself as well and published this years ago. From that experience I can totally understand how time consuming it is. But it is big fun writing away and see characters develop. If you need any help, I am more than happy to co write or review. Bey Bey Nancy.

Fair question. I so wish writing was my day job but sadly it isn't. I write more in my spare time and hope eventually to build enough readers that I might make a go of it professionally some day. Dreams are good things.

In the meantime though, my current day job can be very demanding and it robs me of much of my writing time. Still, it pays the rent.

As for "Reversals, part two has a couple of the chapters being worked on but I haven't started the first draft of either yet. I'll have a better idea after I get a chance to start the first draft of the next chapter how long it might take. Once I'm into the chapter the characters sometimes "take over" a bit and take it in unexpected directions. Much of the shaming of Eric in chapter 12 almost seemed to be more Julia and Samantha then me at times. I'm almost afraid to see what those ladies have in-store for Eric next.

I am going to see if I can get the next couple of chapters done sooner/faster than the last three took me to write (if the office will cooperate a little). I need to find ways to write faster despite the obstacles.

I will say, for sure, that things will be happening over the next couple chapters that Eric is going to be very unhappy about. Part two of "Reversals" will very much be about Eric's downfall. What that means exactly is somewhat up to Julia but I don't sense she's inclined to be kind.