A friend of a friend wrote a novel and was looking for readers to give her feedback. My friend thought I could be helpful as the novel includes a central gay character who dies of AIDS. (I worked for AIDS Project Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s). I agreed, and the author sent me a pdf.

I wasn’t excited to start reading, though. It felt like work. And because I didn’t have a physical copy of the book I had to sit at my computer to read: no reading in the bathtub, or sitting cozily in my favorite chair turning pages.

Once I started, though, I found the novel to be well written, and very interesting. I wrote a few notes of feedback as I finished each chapter. When I was done I typed up some further thoughts and sent my notes back to the author. She received my comments graciously.

I won’t say the author’s name or any more about the novel or its title. I hope she finds a publisher.