~Overwhelming Response to General Query in Angela’s Book~
I’ve already made use of one of the General Query letters (published in your book, Query Letters That Worked!) and I have never had such an overwhelming response. My inbox has been flooded with positive responses to my letter. I’ve been in this business for more than 20 years and no one single mail shot has ever had such a good response rate. I’m frankly astonished. Now if some of this can convert to sales, I’ll be set for the year!

Ferne

~That Phony Barrister~
A very interesting item.

Incidentally, the person who contacted you had very limited knowledge of UK legal practices.

A barrister would almost certainly NEVER request such information. That would be the job of a solicitor, as the only thing a barrister does is represent people (defence or prosecution) in a court. That’d be Crown Court or above. Even tough barristers are “above” a solicitor. They take instructions from a solicitor, the solicitor having been instructed by their client. If you have seen Rumple of the Bailey, then that’s about how our court/legal system works, and they still wear wigs, at the moment.

And the request was possibly an offence under UK law, as it might breach the Data Protection Act.

All the best,

Martin Scholes

Publisher’s Note: WritersWeekly.com did report the phony barrister to the General Council of the Bar in the United Kingdom, complete with all emails, including name and address of employer, headers, and his I.P. address.

~Milkweed~
Re: Angela’s comment about the Springtime garden

Many of us are thinking about planting flowers and other things. Please remember to plant milkweed! Last winter, The Monarch Butterflies arrived in Mexico for their yearly winter vacation. They all settled in and for a week the stragglers came pouring in until the trees were covered, as usual. Then a really strange cool snap hit. Temps plunged and the humans woke up shivering. But they shivered even worse when they went out to check on the Monarchs. 80% of the worlds population of Monarch Butterflies lay dead on the ground.

The Mexican government and the United States Goverment both sent out a plea to anyone in the US who loves butterflies. “Plant milkweed” Milkweed is the only plant that Monarchs really love. We don’t want to lose these beautiful travelers.

Lee from Ohio

Publisher’s Note: We checked this out and, sure enough, officials are urging us all to plant milkweed.