My father-in-law, who is the second, larger group of people I have sent the novel to for quality-control purposes cannot remember where exactly in Silver he's left off (he hates reading at the computer and it takes almost 40 bucks to print a 450+ page manuscript) but of what he has read he says, "So far, so good!".

Now, that may not seem like such a big deal to you, but you must understand a couple of things.

1. My father-in-law is brilliant. I don't mean he's Einstein made over, though he is very intelligent. The man soaks up knowledge like a SPONGE. I have no idea how many degrees he has, but I know it's not just one, and even now that he's in his later-fifties he's still taking online courses in between all the duties as the full-time pastor of our church. He reads like all the books are going to be burnt in protests tomorrow, so he better get them while he can.

2. My father-in-law is a true gentleman. He is funny, and thoughtful, and generous, all without being a pushover. His eyes sparkle when he laughs because his inner well of joy is overflowing. If his children need ANYTHING he is there to grant what measure of help he can. He and my Mother-in-law have raised four very different children and he treats them all in the same beautiful way. As for females, I'm not sure what he wouldn't do to make sure we're taken care of. He worries about all of us if we have to travel. If we're looking for a new doctor or plumber, or accountant he goes out and does research on which ones have good reputations. And it doesn't matter if you're his kid by blood or marriage. I almost cried my eyes out the first time I heard him--without thinking about it--call me his daughter. My dad died when I was four, so it was particularly moving for me.

3. My father-in-law is a man of of many actions and few words, but both are eloquent. He doesn't open many conversations, but he will talk with you for a while if you introduce a topic. We actually like a lot of the same books and movies, even some of the same music. We can really get on a roll when we talk about those things.

Because of the "not so much with the talking" thing when Jesse does talk he's going to say something worth listening to, even if it's just a joke or an anecdote about something that happened that week. Today, with no prompting from me, as I was carrying Ben out the door (we have dinner together as a big family after church more Sundays than not) he stopped me and said he hadn't gotten to read a whole lot of my book yet, but 'so far, so good'.

That, coming from Jesse, is like the New York Times saying paragraphs'-worth of "Wow! This is a fantastic book!"