I neither have to love a book character nor understand the rationale behind their behavior, what I do want is, prose, plot, characters, atmosphere, that are intelligently written and structured. That being said, should I choose to dislike a character because of their personality then that’s okay (imo), more than this, should I choose to dislike the book because of this, then that’s okay. There’s really only so much insipid characterization one can accept. Women who grow instantly wet on seeing a good looking man? Come on. Men, who seem carved from GQ covers? Sigh. Writers who are prolific in churning out much of the same? Sorry, but I can’t deal.

In a previous post, you advised writers to hone their craft by reading Stephen King’s On Writing. That how a book is written is just as important as the characters. Tarryn, let’s be honest, most writers are not in your league (pick any genre). I’ll be honest, Mud Vein was my least favorite of your books yet I read 6 hours non-stop (without electricity, I might add) to finish it. The writing was superb, I just couldn’t deal with Senna and the lack of dialogue.

In conclusion, give me a book, any book- even a children’s book- and I’ll be your friend for life but I reserve the right to jettison such should the author fail to acknowledge the reader’s intelligence and depth of knowledge. I simply cannot simper and cower, regardless how mind blowing the story is.