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I’m in that in-between time that reminds me of the days and weeks I spent waiting to hear back from agents and then editors. Now, I’m waiting to hear from readers. A select number of galleys have gone out to respected scholars and writers in hopes of getting an eye-catching blurb. Those are starting to come in–five so far, from writers like Elaine Showalter and Roxana Robinson. It is an honor to be recognized by such luminaries.

It’s the reading public, however, who truly hold my fate in their hands. The first glimmer of a response from the wider world came just the other day. The creator of a website called “The Reading Life” obtained a galley from an electronic database called Edelweiss. They discovered the collection of stories first, were drawn by the name Colm Toibin, who has written the forward, and read the title story “Miss Grief.” The review of that story, calling it “very interesting, sad and moving,” is the first official notice of the stories and the biography, which the website will review at a later date. I hope it’s a taste of what’s to come, that other readers will be excited to discover a writer worthy of their attention who has been forgotten and deserves rediscovery. I look forward to the day, which I hope materializes soon, when I say the name “Constance Fenimore Woolson” and no one says in response, “who?”