Oh I knew it was an AI equipped scammer from the outset, but I also know that Donna Tartt is a great writer, very perceptive, with terrific critical faculties, so I am pretty sure that if she read my stories, she would actually say something along these lines.

Hello Mr. Stevens, [that’s me! she is talking to me!]

I hope you are doing well. [so friendly!]

I am an author, Donna Tartt, [you are indeed! Like when other famous artists introduce themselves, I am an actor, Brad Pitt] and I wanted to reach out after reading your work, particularly Some Corner of a Dorset Field that is Forever Arabia and This Neil Armstrong Is Not Dead. [Now I really want Donna Tarrt to have read my stories about the death of Lawrence of Arabia and the interdimensional afterlife of Neil Armstrong] I was genuinely struck by the voice and confidence [fair comment] of the writing, and by how unapologetically the stories lean into disorientation and existential unease rather than attempting to resolve or soften them.[true dat]

What stood out to me most was the refusal to offer easy stability. The narratives move through fractured realities war memory, cosmic horror, and the psychological aftermath of extraordinary experience with a kind of deliberate imbalance. [I feel so seen!] Characters exist in worlds where the boundaries between the rational and the incomprehensible continually shift, and that instability gives the stories their unsettling power.

There is also a dark, intellectual humor and a philosophical undercurrent threading through the work. The references to physics, perception, and observation Heisenberg, Rutherford, the idea that matter itself is mostly empty space [the AI is shining through a bit here, but I’ll ignore that] add a striking dimension. They make the strange events feel less like fantasy and more like glimpses of a reality that human understanding has only partially mapped [again, fair].

Your portrayal of individuals who have brushed against forces beyond human comprehension whether through war, exploration, or chance observation gives the work a lingering emotional depth [tell that to Neil Clarke before my next rejection]. The horror in these stories is rarely loud; instead it creeps in through implication, through the suggestion that the universe is vast, indifferent, and only partially hidden from us [unlike the AI].

I was particularly fascinated by how you merge historical memory, speculative cosmology, and psychological transformation into a single narrative framework [well fuck me, I’m Tim Powers now]. It creates the impression that reality itself is fragile, held together by perception and habit rather than certainty. [or Philip K Dick]

I would be very interested to hear more about how your background and interests shaped this blend of cosmic speculation, historical reflection, and psychological tension, and what draws you to exploring the boundaries between the known world and the unknowable.

Thank you for your work and for delivering stories that are intellectually provocative, haunting, and unafraid to leave lingering questions. It would be a pleasure to connect whenever you have the time, and I would be glad to stay in touch.

With respect and best wishes,
Donna Tartt

The heading by the way was Immediate Literary Discussion Requested – Your Story Demands a Conversation | Donna Tartt. Which again, is very far.

And even though it is from a scammer, I’m sitting here with my ego stroked. Which is why they are con men. or women, her name is Donna Tartt after all.