If you've read all the way through the 383 pages of the book, you know the HARRIET/JULIE problem. If you have found it confounding, irritating, distracting and infuriating, imagine how this author feels! My heroine's name was Harriet in the original manuscript, but because my very nice editor didn't feel the name fit the character--too old-fashioned, he believed--I agreed to change it. This was obviously my weak moment; I might have had a cold or some sort of muscle fatigue of the head that day. In the spirit of cooperation we negotiated a bit, and finally agreed on the lovely name, Julie. When I read through the edited manuscript, I realized that the copy-editor had missed changing quite a few Harriets when she corrected the text. The editor assuaged my fears. "Oh, don't worry! This will get another read-through, another going-over," he assured me.

Now there are 75,000 copies of SECOND CHANCES in bookstores around this country and in Canada featuring a Harriet here and a Julie there, and I am getting your frustrated e-mails on a daily basis. So, it turns out I'm the one getting the going-over.

I hereby give you my permission to throw the book against the nearest wall, burn it in the fireplace or throw it into the recycle bin. Who could blame you? I do hope however, that you will read TWO DAUGHTERS, in which no characters' names have been changed, and which is due out in April of 2002.

And again, my apologies, especially to all Harriets everywhere!