Thursday, August 28, 2008

Friday's special is...Washington Irving: An American Original

Washington Irving: An American Original by Brian Jay Jones

Click here to order from Amazon

Brian's website

During a decade of service to the U.S. senate Brian Jay Jones wrote speeches, analyzed policy, and dissected 900-page bills, "which," he says, "he dutifully tabbed, underlined, highlighted, outlined and scribbled cartoons on—all skills which prepared him for the formidable seven-year task of digging through Washington Irving's letters and papers."

Friend o' the blog Josephine Damian wrote a stellar review of Brian's biography, which she called "by far the best I've ever read."

"Of the accomplishment that Mr. Jones has achieved with this book," Josephine wrote, "I think it best to repeat the quote made by another much feared reviewer—Edinburgh’s Francis Jeffrey—whose sentiments towards Irving’s work mirror my own on this most excellent and readable of biographies: We have received so much pleasure from this book that we think ourselves bound in gratitude to make a public acknowledgement of it."

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 9:

Set up: it's 1825, and Washington Irving is sulking in Paris after the critics have rather lambasted his latest book, Tales of a Traveller. He's carrying on a correspondence with his friend, the rascally playwright John Howard Payne, who was living in London, where he was trying to put the moves on a young literarily-inclined widow named Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Things went rather downhill for Payne from there:

In late June Payne had been invited to dinner at the Godwin home in Gower Place. As Payne walked Mary back to Kentish Town after dinner, they had a frank conversation in which Payne learned that Mrs. Shelley had developed something of a crush on Irving. "She said you had interested her more than any one she had seen since she left Italy," Payne told Irving, his eyes emerald with jealousy, "that you were gentle and cordial, and that she longed for friendship with you. I rallied her a little upon the declaration, and at first she fired at my mentioning that she talked as if she were in love. Upon her reply, I answered, 'What! Would you make a plaything of Mr. I[rving]?'"

Mary shyly asked for copies of any of Irving's letters—"Irvine" she called him—that Payne might have on hand, and Payne grudgingly obliged, handing over a dog-eared pile, along with a cover note declaring he would end his one-sided pursuit of her. "I have given way to an absurdity," he huffed, "and have only myself to blame."

Mrs. Shelley made reassuring noises. "Your letter gives me pain," she told the rejected suitor. However, she admitted: "W.I.'s letter pleases me greatly. I shall be glad to see Irvine's letters, and the handwriting . . . will become as clear to me as Lord Byron's letterless scrawl. As to friendship with him—it cannot be—though everything I hear and know renders it more desirable. How can Irvine—surrounded by fashion, rank, and splendid friendships—pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

Dutifully, Payne continued sending Irving's letters to her even as he prepared to leave for Paris for his meeting with Stephen Price. Mrs. Shelley maintained a friendly correspondence with Payne, and joked that her relationship with—indeed, she teased, her plans to marry—her "favorite I[rving]" was not proceeding as quickly as she had hoped:

[M]ethinks our acquaintance proceeds at the rate of the Antediluvians, who, I have somewhere read, thought nothing of an interval of a year or two between a visit. Alack! I fear that at this rate, if ever the Church should make us one, it would be announced in the consolatory phrase that the Bride and Bridegroom's joint ages amounted to the discreet number of 145 and 3 months.

The following day, a blushing Mrs. Shelley sent a follow-up note to Payne, asking him to speak well of her to Irving. "Tho' I am a little fool," she wrote, "do not make me appear so in Rue Richelieu by repeating tales out of school—nor mention the Antediluvians."

Payne gave Irving a parcel containing his correspondence with Mrs. Shelley, along with a note stating his intention to step aside and allow Irving to pursue what the playwright clearly thought was a golden opportunity. "I do not ask you to fall in love," Payne said, "but I should feel a little proud of myself if you thought the lady worthy of that distinction, and very possibly you would have fallen in love with her, had you met her casually but she is too much out of society to enable you to do so."

One can only speculate what might have happened had Irving and Mary Shelley created literature's first trans-Atlantic power couple. Irving, however, while likely amused, wasn't interested. "Read Mrs. Shelley's correspondence before going to bed," he noted in his journal that evening—the only words he ever wrote regarding the entire affair. Irving handed the correspondence back to Payne without comment.



Pop into the comments section to say hello to Brian. Be sure to mention Antediluvians. Stick around long enough to answer the following three questions and you might win a personalized copy of Washington Irving: An American Original straight from Brian's shelf:

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

59 comments:

Chris Eldin said...

Great timing!!! Watching the DNC speeches, then clicking over here...

:-)

Chris Eldin said...

Welcome to everyone!!

We'd like you to feel comfortable to chit chat with Brian, ask him questions, or just say hello even if you don't want to participate in the contest.
:-)

Sarah Laurenson said...

I love Washington Irving. Will try and check back tomorrow when I'm more awake.

Shona Snowden said...

I was supposed to pilot Brian's pleasure bark through the Roast today, but, alas work sank my ship. Thankfully Stephen's party boat hove to and rescued Brian before he slipped beneath the waves.

Naughty Mary Shelley. How frank she is! And how much trust she placed in knowing WI through correspondence, the internet of its time. No insult intended to all you lovely people, but intelligent and witty though you may appear, I'd need to know more than she appeared to before hinting at relationships or marriage, however antediluvian the courtship.

What do you think?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Shona: Thanks for making a clean handoff! I appreciate it.

Perhaps Mrs. Shelley felt WI was speaking RIGHT TO HER in his work. Kinda like those people who follow celebrities after seeing their movies or writers after reading their novels, convinced, y'know, that they were doing it all JUST FOR THEM.

Oh wait . . . that's called stalking. Never mind.

Robin S. said...

Hi Brian,

I had no idea Mary Shelley and Washington Irving had ever met - and I'm amazed by this, for some reason. And grinning.

I love a good biography, and I really enjoy Irving - so, I'm ordering the book.

Thanks, Roasters, for the heads up.

Jaye Wells said...

Since Brian and I are sort of related and I already own the book, I won't enter. However, I'll take a stab at the questions.

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Could any other actress play Mary Shelley better than Helena Bonham Carter? She'd be delightfully creepy as she screamed "Antediluvian!" while sicking Frankenstein on poor Irving (played by Johnny Depp). Directed by Tim Burton, of course.

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?
None. Brain prefers to convey his feelings through the art of mime. He'd stand under her window fighting against winds--the hurricane of her love. Only when he agreed to give up his pursuit of all things mime, did the-future-Mrs. Jones agree to marry him. When he hung up his black beret for the final time, the tears he shed were real.

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

Pleasure bark? Enshadowed nook? Um, isn't this a family blog?

Chris Eldin said...

Hehehe--
Our family morals here at the Book Roast are rather loose...

Jaye, I'm taking you literally--are your truly related? That's fascinating!

I also ordered this book. I'm going to place it face out on my bookshelf so I look intelligent. And I'm also going to memorize that phrase "sad, enshadowed nook." Seems like it can fit a variety of situations...
:-)

Jaye Wells said...

While I'm tempted to encourage the rumor Brian and I are kissing cousins, the truth is we both have the same agent. He's also my brother from another mother.

laughingwolf said...

welcome, brian!

1. richard burton and grace kelly

2. none - since they weren't wed yet, he wrote dozens to his fiancee :P lol

3. 'why did irving not come outta the closet sooner?' :O

Precie said...

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Hugh Jackman and Keira Knightley

Oh, wait, who Brian would pick...

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

Just one. And it was a damn good one.

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

LOL...okay, innuendo aside, I'll say that this is wondering how Irving's work turned from being wildly popular in his day to sometimes-forgotten library fodder.

Precie said...

And some questions:

--Do you still do speech writing? for Senators?

--Did you find it challenging to write biography? To get access to original documents, such as the letters you mention?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Robin: Thanks for the kind words! Irving's almost Forrest Gumpish ability to be around so many famous people and events was one of the things that really attracted me to him. He was our first pop culture superstar.

Jaye: Interesting picks. My editor and I actually had this very discussion -- I'll let everyone know at the end of the day where we started and where we finished. Mime? No, no -- it was HAND PUPPETS, silly! Oh, and thanks for keeping it clean! Stephen teed that one up, didn't he?

Wolf: Out of the closet? Ooooh, you're closer than you think....most of the hate mail I've received is on that very issue....

Precie: re: love letters. My wife wishes that were true. And nice translation. I'm sure there's a Modern Prometheus joke somewhere in there, too....

Brian Jay Jones said...

Precie: Most of my political speech writing these days is limited to the county official for whom I now work. My days of working in the U.S. Senate are done for now.

Speaking of speeches, Obama's bit last night about "This has never been about me; it's always been about YOU!" was one of those moments where the speechwriter in me went, "Damn I wish I had written THAT one!"

The primary sources for this bio were relatively easy to come by, in that they'd all been collected and edited (a 30 year project that was wrapped up in about 1989). Most of the books were out of print, so tracking them down was tough -- thank goodness for the Internets! Unlike, say, George Washington or Mark Twain, there isn't a large scope of work already written about Irving -- the Irving scholars are a narrow but deep bunch. The last real bio was written in 1935, so there really wasn't a lot of groundwork out there -- most of the books were pretty academic, looking largely at his writing. I really wanted to look closer at him as a person, celebrity, bestseller, and pop icon.

Sam said...

I lived for years in upstate NY, in one of Irving's old haunts, Kinderhook, NY, where the old schoolhouse still stands where Ichabod Crane gave his lessons.
:-)

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?
Matthew McConaughey and Angelica Houston.


2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?
50?

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

How can such a bling jet-setter write such goth horror?

Precie said...

Ooh, your response raised another question:

--How have academics responded to the biography?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Oh, and one last thing about original sources: the folks at Historic Hudson Valley -- who manage Irving's home and library -- were enormously helpful and genuinely excited about the project. They gave me a private, insider's look at Irving's home, which was about as thrilling as it gets. Who knew it would be so exciting standing in Irving's bathroom?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Precie: The academics have responded mostly favorably, though they've poked me a bit for not spending more time doing literary criticism. But as I point out in the introduction, that was never my intention. I want YOU to read his books and take what you will out of them, rather than have ME tell YOU why they're fun or good or rotten. I'd much rather look at the hard work that went into them, his cleverness in figuring out how to get around international copyright laws, and how he battled with his publisher over edits!

As I explained to one Irving scholar, who had time to explain what Rip Van Winkle represented, when Mary Shelley was waiting to one side to date him, and Edgar Allan Poe was trying to backstab him, hmmm?

Stephen Parrish said...

I have to say I like the choices Hugh Jackman and Keira Knightley, although they flatter Irving and Shelley, to say the least.

I wanted to ask you about the Obama speech, Brian, and you beat me to the subject. Regardless of one's politics---purely as speeches go---I thought it was a home run from start to finish.

Or? Lay it on me, Senator Brian.

Precie said...

LOL about Irving's bathroom. But I get it. Part of my plan to visit London is to do all the geeky English major stuff...I hope to find some interesting George Eliot haunts. :)

Brian Jay Jones said...

Stephen: A home run, absolutely. I was listening to Peggy Noonan trying to criticize the speech this morning, and try as she might, all her criticisms sounded like she was trying waaaay to hard ("he used a cliche!")

Peggy has written her share of fine speeches, but all the tips she was giving ("keep the sentences shorter," "more to the point") really work better in State of the Union speeches (her forte) than in major campaign speeches. Especially one as important as this one.

What I really liked about it was that it DIDN'T really have any of those one-liners that pundits like so much. It did what it needed to do, it sent a message, and it set the tone for things to come. What more could you ask? Great stuff.

Brian Jay Jones said...

(and that should, of course, be "too hard", NOT "to hard" up above. I HATE that Google won't let you edit messages after the fact...)

cindy said...

1. hmm...michelle pfieffer!

2. twenty-nine! cause it's a favorite number. and writing love letters is sadly a lost art. i'm lucky my hub and i had a transatlantic relationship for a while, so i have some real letters in a box!

3. um, that's just all sorts of dirty.

Precie said...

LOL...that last question is really so unflattering to Mary Shelley.

Michelle H. said...

AHH! I've been missing the Book Roast this week. I'm glad I stopped in today.

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Sean Connery and Sarah Jessica Parker

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

Two: The first one was to flatter her enough to say yes to the second letter.

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

How can laughter from happy days be welcome in the company of foul moods?

Chris Eldin said...

This could be just me. Okay, it probably is. But is McCain glancing at Palin's butt as she's speaking at the podium?

I'm so interested to see how the female (former Hillary) voters will take to her, if they do.

Brian, it must be fascinating for you watching all of this unfold...

Anonymous said...

A back stab by Poe?

What would be his weapon of choice, do you think?

(Welcome to Book Roast Brian!)

Charles Gramlich said...

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Answer, Why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, of course.

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

Answer: Too many. She only agreed to marry him if he stopped writing her love letters.

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

Answer: "Well, it was like he had this boat, see. And it was like a party barge, you know. With kegs and smoke and stuff. But man the beach where we usually parteee was all crowded and stuff. So we popped tops on some brews and cruised on back to this quiet little cove where there weren't nothing but sweet water. I'm telling you, bro, we did some high voltage par-teeing back there."

Stephen Parrish said...

Looks like McCain, in one crafty stroke, snatched up what Obama let slip away when he snubbed Clinton. My oh my oh my.

Precie said...

But if Clinton's supporters actually look at Palin's stance on issues, they won't stick with her very long.

Stephen Parrish said...

I'd like to think you're right (that people are rational) but how do you explain the Clinton supporters who had already switched to McCain? I predict more will now follow.

Precie said...

1 ) I trust those Clinton supporters had a knee-jerk reaction and will have enough time between now and November to consider seriously what a McCain vote would mean for them.

2) I have to say I like the choices Hugh Jackman and Keira Knightley, although they flatter Irving and Shelley, to say the least.

Well, duh. :) To say the least! But if a movie is going to be made, don't we want people to watch?

3) Damn. Charles is going to win again!

4) Brian--What's next on your writing agenda? Another biography? A study perhaps of the Antediluvians?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Cindy: Indeed. TO all of the above.

MLH: Nice! They were actually fairly closer in age than THAT, though. Still, it would be awesome to hear Irving talk with that cool accent. Regarding the letters: again, my wife wishes....

Chris: When the local newspaper is The Washington Post, we tend to get saturated with all this sort of thing! Personally, I don't think Obama supporters need to be all that concerned about Palin taking the Clinton voters. But the party and the Obama camp need to frame their responses carefully in order to NOT look like bullies.

Jason: I'd like to see Poe challenge Irving to a drinking contest. I have a feeling he'd be surprised at the outcome....

Charles: Brad and Angelina? Good lord! *choke* Oh, and you're close on the letter thing. In a way.

Precie: Up next? Working on it. I'm hoping to have something to announce next month or so, but we'll see. It's complicated. (How's THAT for a enigmatic response?)

Anonymous said...

Absinthe, perhaps? Now that would be a heck of a drink-off.

Total Victorian smack-down.

Precie said...

Oh, I just thought of another "speech writer" question...Forgive me but I am still a die-hard WEST WING fan. If you watched it, how did the Toby/Sam depiction of political speech writing compare to real life?

Word said...

Hi Brian,

Congrats! I need this book too because I can't have Chris looking smarter than me - even though she is!

Who's this Washington Irving cat?
And Mary Shelley?

I think it is interesting that Washington Irving is one of those "two last names" guys and Mary Shelley is one of those "two first names" chicks. They should have hooked up ;-)

I'll take a go at the questions.

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Tom Hanks and Paris Hilton.

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

One every day until she finally said yes just get the letters to stop.

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

How can Irving pick his nose after just having his fingernails cut?

Anonymous said...

Great book, great subject. A go at the questions:

1. Who would Brian pick to play Washington Irving and Mary Shelley in the movie version of his book?

Kevin Spacey (c'mon that one is so obvious) and Gates McFadden (but you would have to know Brian to know that he'd go there)

2. How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

The man is prolific - he may even be an author someday. I'm guessing one letter a day (do e-mails count?)

3. Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

"How can a dandy date a goth?"

Chris Eldin said...

Word, you may make me whip out my glasses and tweed.

laughingwolf said...

brian, i'm sure you get flamed over more than just that...

i'm not into politics a lot, but is not palin FOR the decimation of wildlife in alaska, especially wolves? grrr

Barb Jones said...

Here's a hint for Question #2:

457 times the number of times he has taken me to the ballet.

(We both hate the ballet...)

Sandra Cormier said...

Welcome, Brian! A Friday night party, huh? I heard good things about your book from Josephine Damien, who is very difficult to please. So, kudos!

I'm Canadian so I'm not so big on this history stuff, but I know who Mary Shelly is.

1. Hugh Laurie and Dame Judy Dench.

2. None. He just winked at her and she was smitten.

3. Hmm. Must have something to do with writing and the printing press, so...
"How can Irving write such depressing stuff when everything else is jumping off the press with flowers, weddings and happy endings?"

Sarah Hina said...

Brian, this book sounds fascinating. Congratulations of the highest order!

1) Philip Seymour Hoffman and Claire Danes

2) Er, 457?

3) "Do you, like, think he'd go out with me? But don't tell him I asked or anything..."

Josephine Damian said...

Here's a question: What blogging crime scribe was inspired to become a writer when she made a childhood pilgrimage to Sunnyside, WI's famous house?

Answer: Josie D!

Mary Shelley was just one literary luminary to cross WI's path. Among the many delights of this outstanding book are the array of writers WI meets (for example: Dickens & Poe) and the entirely fresh and new perspective I had on them from seeing them through WI's eyes.

Another thing I got out of this book was how much the pub biz and agenting haven't changed from WI's times.

Am extremely eager to read BJJ's next book, and will be first in line to buy it.

Brian Jay Jones said...

Sorry to be away so long, there, folks. Back now.

Jason: Followed by an opium chaser! Good times indeed.

Precie: Believe it or not, I've never watched West Wing. I know, I know . . . I suck.

Word: Tom Hanks maybe, though he gets ALL the good parts lately...

Points for the translation! That got the big LOL, as Kids Today say. And get off my lawn.

Anon: Shut up! *punches you on the arm*

Barb: No hints from the wife, darn it! (Love you!)

Chumplet: Come now! Legend of Sleepy Hollow and all that, right? Buehller? Anyone? (Seriously, thanks for dropping by the Friday Night Dance Party!)

Sarah: PSH! One of my favorites! But not for Irving. Perhaps for James Fenimore Cooper, though...

And yes, I like to think Mrs. Shelley really COULD be that coy.

Brian Jay Jones said...

JD! Nice to see you! I was hoping you'd drop in! (To borrow a line from THAT THING YOU DO: "Is that our fan?")

Seriously, thanks for the kudos and kind words. And did you read ROGER ACKROYD yet, hmm????

Chris Eldin said...

We're going through Sat 7am, so please keep your guesses (and chit chat!) rolling in!!

:-)

Brian Jay Jones said...

Hi Chris!

This is fun, and I'd love to keep going if people want to keep posting. In the morning, I'll give some of MY answers to the questions, and pick the winner. And choosing a winner is TOUGH, I assure you, with all these smartybritcheses around.

Josephine Damian said...

BBJ: You know I luv ya, you know I'm your biggest fan, but when you read my write-up on ROGER ACKROYD, you'll see exactly why I'm one of the most feared women in the blogosphere, and just how harsh my criticism can be, even for a master like Agatha Christie.

So to answer your question, I read it until I stopped reading it (on my blog I do a series of savage posts entitled WHY I STOPPED READING (THIS) BOOK)- posts that strike fear in the hearts of every writer, living or dead.

Josephine Damian said...

BJJ: On a lighter note, when are you gonna join Jaye, Chris and me on Twitter?

How do you manage to write in house with all those remodeling projects going on?

Any hints about your next book? When are you going to try your hand at some fiction?

Josephine Damian said...

BJJ: My ACKROYD post is scheduled for 10/19, and on 10/30 I'll post my own Top 100 "Big Read" list - can you guess which modern, 21rst Century author is among the very few modern 21rst Century authors to make my best/fave list? ;-)

Chris Eldin said...

Good Morning Folks!!!!

Thanks to *everyone* who popped in and said hello!!! And thank you, Brian, for taking the time to talk with us about your book.

The contest is now closed, so Brian can post the winner at any time. (Although as a mom, I always say we're all winners. Corny, yes!) :-)

Michelle H. said...

Someone had their cornflakes today, didn't she?

Brian Jay Jones said...

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for the roasting -- and for the political discussion as well. It was a great day, and I'm only sorry a crazy schedule prevented me from checking in more often.

And with that outta the way, here's the moment you've been waiting for.

First, you're all pee-in-yer-pants funny and a whole lotta fun. So choosing is tough. So let me go through the questions one at a time, and even give you a bit of backstory.

(1) Who would I pick to play Irving and Mary Shelley?

My editor, Casey, and I had just such a discussion about a number of "characters" in the book. I started by suggesting Hugh Grant, but she said he was a bit too goofy and not unpredictable enough. Fair enough. Eventually, we settled on Johnny Depp as being the only actor unpredictable enough to carry off the complicated Washington Irving.

Jaye, that was your suggestion -- and I also liked your Helena Bonham Carter idea, which both my wife and I enthusiastically agreed with. But you're an ineligble receiver!

That being said, there was actually another answer really made me go, "Wow, great choice, I wish I'd thought of that!" -- and that was Precie's suggestion of Hugh Jackman as Irving, and Keira Knightley as Shelley. Great picks both -- and others seemed to agree -- so first point goes to Precie.

(2) How many love letters did Brian write to his wife before she married him?

Uh....zero, actually. I know, I know. Fortunately, my wife fell in love with me for my ability to do all of the Muppets' voices.

Best answer: Precie, who said "one," but gets big bonus points for her suggestion that it was "a damn good one!" Both Barb and I laughed out load at that one. Point, Precie.

(3) Translate into modern English: "How can Irving pilot his pleasure bark from the gay press into this sober, sad, enshadowed nook?"

My only comment here: thank you all for keeping it clean. I know it was difficult! I must admit, though, that Charles gave a typically great response. And if that's not how it translates, then by god it SHOULD be....

Tallying the scores, then, the clear winner for today's event is . . .

Precie!

Whew, picking a winner was actually tougher than the roast itself.

Thank you EVERYONE for participating. I had a great time, and I'm always willing to continue any discussions. Give me a shout over on my blog if you're ever bored. Maybe I'll give you the lowdown on the time I was yelled at by the Senate Majority Leader....

Brian Jay Jones said...

Oh, and feeling like Dustin Hoffman, who forgot to thank his costars in his Oscar acceptance speech . . .

A special thanks to Chris and the whole team at Book Roast -- especially Stephen Parrish, who's everything one could have hoped for in a host and roastmaster. You're class acts, all of yuz.

Stephen Parrish said...

Thanks, Brian, and congratulations, Precie. I guess I have to save "piloting a pleasure bark into an enshadowed nook" until the erotic romance authors visit next month. Surely they'll know what to make of it.

Michelle H. said...

Congrats, Precie!

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Yay, Precie!

This has really been a fun week of roasters and roastees. Y'all are the best! That's why it's such a pleasure -- and so easy -- to play the occasional host. You guys do all the work!

laughingwolf said...

way to go, precie!

thx brian, and all the others, too

Precie said...

Oh, YAY!!!!!! Sorry for the belated response! Can't wait to read more of this!!!!

Yippee!!!!!