Charleen-- Well, I've certainly had my share of disappointments. (I just heard from my publicist a few minutes ago that Oprah turned the book down). But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you gotta keep believing. You can't give up on yourself. (With enough grass-roots support for the book, even Oprah could change her mind!) Just want to clarify, though, that this IS my first book. I'd never written a single thing before, except one short academic article on reader-response theory--not exactly creative non-fiction. Anyway, thanks again for your notes. This is such a great site!!! Dotsie is the best, isn't she?