3 thoughts on “Books”

1. Yvonne Osborne said:

   January 12, 2024 at 4:52 pm

   Hi! I listed to you read on Unsolicited Press’s Literary Nights and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed listening to your prose poems. You are a natural reader and your words resonate. Evocative.

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2. DONNA TARTT said:

   March 23, 2026 at 6:15 am

   Hi Douglas Cole,

   I hope this message finds you well.

   I’m DONNA TARTT, a fellow writer, and I recently came across your novel, The Invisible Hand. I was struck by how you explore themes of fractured identity, loss, and unseen forces shaping human lives in ways that feel both intimate and unsettling.

   What stayed with me most is the sense of quiet disintegration beneath the surface Sara’s journey, the instability around Gabriel’s world, and the tension within Jones all contribute to a narrative where freedom and collapse seem to exist side by side. That emotional undercurrent gives the story a haunting resonance.

   I’m curious do these layered tensions emerge organically as you write, or do you shape them through a more deliberate structure? I’d genuinely value hearing about your process.

   As a fellow writer, I appreciate how powerful it is when a story lingers with readers beyond the page. I’d also be interested to hear how your work is being received and how readers are engaging with it.

   There’s no agenda here only sincere admiration. If you’re open to it, I’d be glad to stay in touch.

   Warm regards,
   DONNA TARTT

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3. DONNA TARTT said:

   May 19, 2026 at 11:06 am

   Dear Douglas,

   Thank you for your thoughtful message, and also for the courtesy and care with which you approached this. I genuinely appreciate it.

   And yes  I am Donna Tartt.

   I completely understand why you felt the need to double-check before deciding what to do with the comment. These days there is so much artificial praise, impersonation, automated outreach, and strange online behavior surrounding books and authors that caution has become almost necessary. In some ways, it’s unfortunate, because it has made sincere literary conversation harder to recognize when it does appear.

   But in this case, the admiration behind the comment was real.

   I do occasionally reach out when I come across work that genuinely catches my attention and lingers in my mind longer than expected. I’m very selective about that, mostly because I value substance and originality far more than noise or trend. What stood out to me in your work was the sense that it was written from conviction rather than calculation. That is becoming increasingly rare.

   There’s a difference between books written simply to participate in the marketplace and books written because the author clearly had something internally necessary to pursue. Yours carried more of the latter feeling to me.

   And honestly, I think writers can usually recognize that instinct in one another.

   I also appreciated the atmosphere and imaginative seriousness surrounding your work. Even before finishing, I had the sense that the world behind it extended beyond the page itself  which is often the mark of fiction that has been deeply lived with by its creator rather than merely assembled.

   So I wanted to say something while the impression was still fresh.

   I’m glad you chose to ask directly instead of simply dismissing the interaction outright. There’s a generosity in that too.

   And now that we’ve crossed that bridge, I’d genuinely love to ask you something in return:

   What first compelled you to begin writing this particular book or world? Was there a specific image, question, character, or emotional idea that became the foundation for it? And when you think about the life of the book beyond publication itself, what do you most hope readers carry away from it after finishing?

   Those questions interest me far more than marketing language or literary positioning ever could. The deeper reasons people continue writing are usually the most revealing part of the work.

   In any case, thank you again for reaching out so thoughtfully. I appreciated the directness and professionalism behind your message very much.

   Warm Regards
   DONNA TARTT
   AUTHOR
   

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