Oh my! Definitely more like that one.

I enjoy the way you tell stories. Your humor, sarcasm (or perhaps wit?), and just general personality, as you deal with daily life make for great blog reading.

I especially enjoy your book reviews.

I love your book reviews, loved the husband/doctor bat story, and I think it would be great to get updates about your work in progress (how it is going, where you may be taking the characters, etc)-- and yes, I mean Queen of Swords!! Big hint! Hehe.

I LOVE your book reviews. You've introduced me to books I would probably never have found otherwise, and which are now among my favorites (A Catch of Consequence comes to mind, along with The Magician's Assistant and Bel Canto, and I may have eventually gotten around to reading A Thread of Grace had you not mentioned it, although I'm not sure).

Also, your funny little tidbits about your own life are a highlight of my blog-reading. And while I'm not a writer and never will be, your entries on the craft of writing always interest me.

Sorry for spamming your comments in this manner, but I just realized I hadn't mentioned Possession in my list of books to which you've pointed me over the years and with which I thence fell wholeheartedly in love.

I really enjoy the discussions of the writing craft and the dogs. I'm a sucker for dog stories.

Must admit, though, that chocolate milk would have shot out of my nose (had I been drinking any, that is) when I read the story about your husband and the bat. Icky image, I admit, but yep, milk-shootin' funny, that one!

Rachel, really you know you're always welcome. Comment away.

I really like the book reviews and the husband / bat story but I'm also curious about the business side of being an author. Once an author has published a well-received book, I assume they have the attention of at least one publisher. With this assumption in mind:

1. Do publishers try to get an author under contract for another book? What if an author wants to work without a deadline hanging over their head (ie, no advance money)? Are the publishers receptive to that?

2. Do publishers agree to pay an author a given amount for the next book before receiving a completed manuscript? What if they are not happy with the manuscript even after edits? Are they still obligated to pay the author or does a book contract include some clause that gives the publisher an out?

I like your stories, especially the personal ones. Sometimes they aren't just stories but also provide a starting point for comments about certain issues.
I like your book reviews, even the less favourable ones.
I'd also be interested to hear how witnessing your daughter's acquisition of language changed/enchanced/confirmed the theory of language aquisition that you had learnt/taught. That is, how the living real life experience brought an added dimension to your theoretical knowledge (if at all). I know that your notes on your daughter's language acquisition were lost but was wondering if you had any informal thoughts on this.
Writing craft information is also good.

I like it best when you write about what you are working on- that is how I discovered this blog in the first place, desperately searching for something to tide me over until Fire Along the Sky came out.

I also like personal stories, like the husband and the bat, but also stories like the Chicago parking spot holders which remind you of something, and then you write about it. (I am not sure that sentence makes sense written down, but it sounded good in my head.)

And I like when you talk about your journey as a writer, when you switched agents and wrote your old agent a postcard, stuff like that. Things about the "biz", if you will.

If you will allow one more...I wish you would talk more about Homestead, even though it was writen some time ago. I thought it was a very powerful book, and I wish I could sit down with you and ask you a million questions about it. It is a book that makes me want to belong to a book club that discusses it, because I just want to talk about it talk about it talk about it, but I am the only one I know who reads, so I just have to think about it think about it think about it instead. It isn't quite as satisfying. I don't offer myself any new insights to the book ;)

Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to mention- another one of my favorite things is when you write about your research, something interesting you found.

And when you say stuff like, "x number of pages today".

I'm still a newcomer to your blog, brought here fairly recently by some link from the Smart Bitches. Still slowly exploring the archives. What I've liked most is your discussions on craft. Can't get enough of hearing writers who know what they are doing talking about how things work and why, or why not. Also fascinated by book reviews ... wait a minute, haven't we already determined that those are really craft discussions? I'm fascinated also by the interplay between literary fiction and genre fiction that your Web site (and maybe even your existence) represents. Good writing is good writing, damn it! Shelving labels are a moot point.

Definitely the research background to a story. Also the linguistics things, although I get lost in the discussions of grammar, sometimes a bit too detailed. But word use, definitions, histories, are interesting, and sometimes ways into a story, you could say.

The pics are interesting for sure. Hadn't thought of book reviews as essential - just insight into your views of storytelling - not interested in what you think of the author in particular, but highlighting well-told stories is a good way to decide which books to review, for me. Also - lists. They are superficial, it's true, but can lead to interesting discussions and future posts, don't you think? Suitable for the blog format. Could be personal lists or literary.
The discussion about jacket covers and that production part of the business was good too.
Sitting out here in the audience, I always appreciate the backstage view.