My mother called me yesterday to tell me that my dad had picked up my copy of Because of Dylan and had not put it down all day.  Why am I seeking courage this weekend?  1) My dad doesn’t typically read, and NEVER reads adult romance novels, so I’m not sure what his expectations are.  2) There’s sex in the book. 3) The character of Will Masters is quite obviously based on my father.  I guess it could be worse.  At least there’s no sex involving Will Masters.  Mom told me that he had made only one comment all day.  He said, “If she thinks I don’t know who this character is, she’s crazy.”  What is it about your parents that makes you want to please them, no matter how old you get?  I can read book critiques all day but one word from my mother or father has the ability to elate me or crush me.  When my mom read Wait for Me, she told me that it was “painful.”  Guess what, Mom?  Your critique is painful.  After I finished sulking, she explained that it was because she saw me in Amy and had trouble seeing her being abused.  Like Will Masters, I doubt that my father will ever say a word to me about the book.  I will forever be stuck in petrified limbo between being happy that he read something I wrote and being fearful that he hated it.  Aren’t parents grand?