Got a reply from one of our beta readers this morning. (Yay!) Read it and found it “safe for Grendels,” as I told my brother when I talked to him a little while ago.
I am… amused that the beta reader had a bit of trouble recalling who Brennen is. *resists making joke at character’s expense… but just barely* On the other hand, this beta reader wants to know more about Drake, Geoffrey… and Hephaestus. This beta reader wants more description and backstory! And for the best of reasons, too: What’s there is enough to get the point across, but it’s interesting to the reader, so of course the reader wants MOAR! Beta reader likes the “big, smart-assed kitteh.” (Who doesn’t?) Likes the personal conflicts Geoffrey is experiencing. (In that case, beta reader, you’re gonna love “that novel.”) Likes the interactions between Tonya and Tebrey.
Thanks muchly to the beta reader for this bit of good news, and for providing additional motivation for the author to work (really funny typo: quork instead of work — don’t go there, brain) on a novel that’s — at first glance, anyway — unrelated to this one.
North of Andover 
That’s so exciting! The first bit of feedback from bets readers is terrifying, i think, until you hear the goodness they have for you. I get the character recall thing. I have a beta reader who consistently called my main character by the name of another character who only appeared in one scene. Funny what sticks!
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