Just before Christmas I received a most amazing and unexpected telephone call from Stephen Vizinczey, a writer I have admired for over three decades and have championed many times on this blog.

Vizinczey called to thank me for the pieces I had written about him on this blog and to inform me that he had purchased and was reading my novel The City of Earthly Desire. He told me that he was enjoying it and that I possessed great talent. Vizinczey then informed me that he would send me a manuscript copy of his latest and yet unpublished novel If Only to read.

We spoke for about twenty-minutes covering topics ranging from the contemporary publishing industry to current world issues. He was kind, gracious, and, as I expected, exceptionally insightful when it came to matters of politics or writing. 
To follow up the conversation, he sent me a brief email and an attached copy of If Only (which I have read and will write about in a future post.)

The universe is a mysterious place that is forever full of surprises. Sometimes those surprises are good ones.

It all takes me back to my decision to self-publish The City of Earthly Desire back in 2012. Having Mr. Vizinczey read the novel makes that decision seem worthwhile all in itself. 

The question of whether something is appropriate or inappropriate has utterly eclipsed the question of whether something is good or evil.