Well, I agree with your friend, but other than that, I think I'd need to see some of the scenes you deleted...I think you said there were 10? Can you develop Ms. Murdoch's character a bit more? Can you tell us why Sterling has a tendency to do so much research, or what some of his past research has taught him, compared to Alexis' blunt-instrument approach? I guess I'm used to much longer works, as well--couple 100 pps, which I understand you don't want to do if you're working on a series, but a 100 pp wouldn't be amiss.