a rarity -- I seek beta reader(s)

[Hypoxia]

I have drafted my longest-ever single piece. QUICKSILVER, now barely under 70k words, is a "dawdling, mostly fictional June-October romance diary-novella (under 20 LIT browser pages), set in ancient USA before the Internet, cell phones, and digital watches and printers". (That quote is from my Author's Note.)

Category is Romance. My tags are "mature, San Francisco, bicycle courier, Gatekeeper, busker, swimmer, wargame, strip chess, art star, holiday song" and it's my entry in the Valentines Day 2021 Contest so I won't post it before 14 January.

I fear QUICKSILVER is a bit bloated. I seek serious eyes to advise on what I should cut out, which of my lovelies I should murder. I'll clear my mailbox to make room for your PMs. Thanks much.

 

[Hypoxia]

Update: Two volunteers are now steely-eying my V-day novella and I thank both greatly. Emdashes and tied eighth-notes abound -- I hope those aren't too distracting.

 

[Charrla]

Friend, if your piece is 70,000 words long, that's no novella. That's a full-blown novel. I wonder if there's been a typo.