Anyone want to read my in-progress novel?

[leann_in_tx]

So, I have written a novel. I've put a lot of time into it and have had a great deal of fun with it. But now I'm contemplating rewriting the plot and making huge sweeping changes and I'm afraid I am about to take something that already works and mess with it for no reason. So I would like some other eyes on it. My husband has read some of it and says that it is good, which means a lot to me because he's hard to please, but it's a love story, and isn't really his kind of thing and he doesn't seem very motivated to read more of it, so I thought some other opinions would be helpful.

 

As far as genre, I guess maybe it's a christian romance, but I haven't actually read many of these and it may not fit perfectly there. Part of what motivated this story was my own feeling that most chick flick type stories are not as interesting as the stories I've heard from Christians working through relationships that started out with a lot of obstacles, particularly when one follows Christ and the other doesn't. (It is all strictly fiction though.) My own faith is biblically conservative and that is reflected in the story. There is a little mild language, drinking, etc, because of the nature of the characters.

 

I know that this isn't a writing forum or anything, but I've spent more time reading in this forum than anywhere else online and I feel like this is a good place to find thoughtful opinions. I don't really need major editing advice (at least not yet), I just want to know if the story works, or if you are bored to tears, or you find it unbelievable - stuff like that. I have friends I could ask but I'm intimidated by the thought that they might think it stinks, and I thought someone I don't really know might make a better first time reader. I had no idea I would be so insecure about my own writing before I began this!

 

Anyway, if this interests you at all, please let me know. A PM is fine, or you can post and I can send you a sample and you can tell me if you'd like the whole thing emailed to you. Or maybe I could use Google Docs? I don't know. Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance! Below is a brief 'novel blurb' I wrote in five minutes to give you some idea of what it is about.

 

Growing up in a lake house in a tiny town doesn’t give much opportunity for finding love. Charlotte is ready to get a taste of real life, and a chance at love, when her cousin invites her to share her town house in a college town. Her best friend Jane joins her, but Jane grew up as the housekeeper’s daughter, and has confined herself to the modest goal of earning a degree and supporting herself. But if it’s hard to find a future in small town Vermont, finding the right road for a Christian woman with high standards among the young elite of Burlington is full of obstacles that Charlotte and Jane have not anticipated.

Edited November 20, 2011 by leann_in_tx

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'll read it. PM me or you can e-mail me through the board.