‘Oh, Ashley, Ashley,’ she murmured, as though half-heartedly auditioning for Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, but I could see her mind had gone back to Bunny-Tail Beige Land again.

Suddenly I felt quite left out: Linny and I had done everything together since we were eight, and now here she was setting out on one of life’s major journeys without me.

When I got home I called Nathan, more for the pleasure of hearing his velvety voice than anything, and told him about Ruperta’s interest in The Orchid Huntress, and that I was lunching with her to discuss it. He said he knew Ruperta, which caused me a twinge of jealousy, though she is married to a perfectly nice man already.

I didn’t tell him I would be seeing him at Linny’s next week. I thought I’d like to surprise him and see if I could tell if he was pleased or not, though actually he has very good manners so he would not be likely to look anything other than delighted, unlike Sergei, whose every passing emotion is instantly reflected on his face – or at least it was when he could still move it, and his rich and ever-changing landscape of expressions was one of the first things that drew me to him … and I rushed off to write that down.

NOVELTINA LITERARY AND CRITICAL AGENCY

Mudlark Cottage, The Harbour, Shrimphaven

Dear Bob Woodelf,

Thank you for the beautiful beaded top, which I intend wearing with the matching skirt to the next Society For Women Writing Romance party at the Café Royal, always an over-the-top occasion, where I am sure it will be much admired. The wings would have been altogether too much of a good thing, so thank you for your kind offer to throw them in gratis, but I’ll pass on that one.

I enclose the critique of your delightful children’s tale of one boy and his elf, which had interestingly dark Tolkien and C. S. Lewis undertones to it. If you can increase the length by about twenty thousand words and omit the illustrations, I believe you might well sell this to a publisher, due to the sudden resurgence of that kind of thing, although I am not altogether convinced that killing the main character off at the very end (even though he is reborn as an elf) quite works for this age group.

Let me know if you want me to look at the rewritten version and recommend publishers and/or agents who might be interested. Please also tell Angie Heartsease, should she happen to flit by, that her critique will also shortly be winging its way back to her.

May Elven voices extol your virtues too, Bob.

Best wishes,

Tina Devino