THE REBUTTAL

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for you thoughtful message entitled “Searing Fan Mail”.  I do wish you’d had the hardihood to identify yourself by name but I’m sure you have your reasons for concealing your identity.   You were undoubtedly afraid that I would counter your attack by demanding a list of your credentials, ask about your most recent novel or demand to see a bio that would establish your importance and justify your nasty missive.  Or perhaps you thought I might delve into your troubled personal life and focus on some of your more pronounced physical imperfections such as your receding hairline, uneven skin tone, or the cruel and unalterable gaps in your genetic makeup.  Never fear, dear reader.  I stand before your firing squad ready and willing to take what you dish out without a single thought of retribution. It’s part of my job description.  And I do understand that it is much easier for you to hide behind a boulder when blowing spitballs.  I really do.  The critic’s seat is the most comfortable one of all.   So you just sit there, all cozy and smug, while I attempt to address some of your concerns.

The Critic’s Throne

You are right; I have spent a lot of the last three years wringing my hands over some of our big-ticket global issues and it did make my heart bleed. I wanted to help, change things, make a direct and important difference.  I stepped out of my world into yours with the best of intentions.  I climbed up on the soapbox, ready to deliver, but the voices in my head stopped speaking.  I couldn’t sing the song.   You called my recent work “flat”; I think that’s valid.  The real world killed my canary.

Katie Arnoldi’s Canary

The good news is I’ve moved back into my old neighborhood and the chatter seems to be starting up again.  Turns out I’m fluent in several dialects and there’s a whole new slew of people that live in the area.  What does my landscape look like?  Here’s a photograph of the terrain inside of my head.

Inside Katie Arnoldi’s Head

And the tools of my trade.

Katie Arnoldi’s writing tools

My new characters are shy.  They need time to grow into themselves.  Most of that maturation process happens in the dark, when I’m sleeping, so even if I wanted to show you what the Petris look like, there aren’t any good photos, yet.

The Petris grow in the dark

What I’m trying to say here, what I want you to understand, is I’ve come home, retreated to the back of my mind, where things happen without my conscious involvement.  I’ve given up the reins am sitting in the passenger seat again.

View from the passenger’s seat

We’re on a winding road, going really slowly, destination completely unknown, but we’re moving.  And that’s the best news I can offer at this time.

Katie Arnoldi inside her head

Thank you for you letter.  I’m sure I’ll hear from you again.

Sincerely,

Katie Arnoldi