TARNISH Does It Again

Today, my friends, I’m THRILLED at my chance to welcome TARNISH to the world. And while the word tarnish may conjure images of dull things, this book SHINES. I read the manuscript in a semi-polished state a little over a year ago and instead of rehashing all of the points, I thought I’d share with you a snippet of the letter I sent back with my notes.

Katherine,

In one sentence: You did it again.

TARNISH hooked someone who’s not all that into girly YA historical fiction big time. You drew me into court even more than you did with GILT. The characters are even deeper and more vibrant. Anne’s voice is clear and sassy and totally engaging. The world you built is textured and beautiful. And what you do with the language sometimes makes me want to…I dunno…BE you.

I won’t spend too much time on what worked so well in TARNISH in this letter, because there’d be so much to talk about. The characters gush from the pages. All of them are distinct and real breathing entities in my mind. Anne and Wyatt and the king and Percy and Mary and…you get the idea. The king is a rock star, but I loved the hints of the man you weaved in as we progressed. Anne, as I’m sure you know, ROCKS. I mean, such a voice(did I say that already?) and presence…anyhow, one to a few minor notes.

…[some odd and ends notes – tiny things, really]…

Again, FANTASTIC job.

*Bowing down!*

Can’t wait to see where you take this…you just keep getting better and better.

As always, we can chat about whatever points you want. I can find more examples if you need them, etc.

Thanks again for trusting me with your baby. It was an honor and pleasure. Seriously.

Bret.

As I said, I read this long before the editors and copy editors got to it and it was fantastic back then. So that means: It. Only. Got. Better.

And know what else that means?

GET READING!