Hi NaTaya, I rarely reply to reviews, but in this case there’s a bit of information I wanted to fill in. YES, there will be plenty of paintings throughout the novel just like my other books! And indeed, the ARC version you are reading doesn’t have the final round of edits. So hopefully the errors you noticed will be gone. Next, I really appreciate you taking the time to write your review, and also appreciate all the kind and generous things you said about my books. Thank you. The only other note I would add is about Southern Talk. First, any problems with the dialect are my own failings, just me trying my best to translate my lived experience living in the south. But I feel we might have had different experiences. All my family is from Tuscaloosa, and I lived over nine years in southern Alabama going to school in the 70’s and early 80’s. So possibly things have changed a bit since then. But when I was going to school, using “them” instead of “those” was pretty common. I still do that way more than I should. All us kids used “ma’am and sir” when speaking to adults or folks older than us. The other bits were just things I’ve heard my family saying over the years. Anyway, I hate that this was jarring for you. It’s always tough trying to get the flavor of the south without going overboard. But I did want you to know it all comes from my love of the dialect and culture.
I rarely reply to reviews, but in this case there’s a bit of information I wanted to fill in. YES, there will be plenty of paintings throughout the novel just like my other books! And indeed, the ARC version you are reading doesn’t have the final round of edits. So hopefully the errors you noticed will be gone. Next, I really appreciate you taking the time to write your review, and also appreciate all the kind and generous things you said about my books. Thank you. The only other note I would add is about Southern Talk. First, any problems with the dialect are my own failings, just me trying my best to translate my lived experience living in the south. But I feel we might have had different experiences. All my family is from Tuscaloosa, and I lived over nine years in southern Alabama going to school in the 70’s and early 80’s. So possibly things have changed a bit since then. But when I was going to school, using “them” instead of “those” was pretty common. I still do that way more than I should. All us kids used “ma’am and sir” when speaking to adults or folks older than us. The other bits were just things I’ve heard my family saying over the years. Anyway, I hate that this was jarring for you. It’s always tough trying to get the flavor of the south without going overboard. But I did want you to know it all comes from my love of the dialect and culture.