At the time, it struck me as being… juvenile. Perhaps what we have here, is a similar feeling? I’ve also read Double Dead, and it did evoke a similar response. Is there something about salvation in this respect that makes us think of childhood fairytales? As adults, are we predisposed to anticipate/expect/demand the corrupt, the cynical, having put away childish dreams and fantasies?

Is this a failing? Perhaps. Is it the job of a writer to strive to recapture the lost childhood wonder? I think so. It’s up the reader to decide if the writer has succeeded in this…

Margaret Atwood is a great example of an author with a clear interest in the role of gender, I didn’t know about the Penlopiad, I’ll have to check it out.

There’s a lot of material like this that hasn’t made the final cut. I may use it elsewhere though in different ways, maybe a short-story, some tie-in content or in its own right.

Of course if its successful there’s been many authors come back to their early work and do an ‘author’s preferred’, it might just be though that the novel’s even better without it.

You’ve got a very visual style. I love the detail and care you’ve put into this – it’s such a shame it had to be cut out. Maybe one day you’ll get to do a ‘directors’ cut!