Three years ago this was a lively place with instant connectivity, all new posts from your chosen follows displayed at the top of the mish-mash screen. Sure, it looked homemade, but we didn’t care. Then came the dignified, corporate redesign, and we’ve been bleeding members ever since. We are discussing this sad situation elsewhere. Here are some comments from members who have made themselves scarce on here, poking a nose in very infrequently.

“Book Country was once a warm and lively online culture. The colors on their website were warm colors - not the cold pale blue & green hues of today. And, the site was easy to navigate - again, not like today. Today's BC website is not only buggier than an ant farm, it has all the charm of a McDonalds.”

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“Yes, BC now is barely more lively than a dodo. Either they have a plan to revamp it or else it'll fizzle out. We shall see...”

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“We are seeing BC implode. Maybe it's a death-spiral thing. The worse it gets, the worse it gets.”

The lack of visible direction and activity is concerning, yes. I totally get that companies are watching their bottom line, so perhaps BC isn't a big enough moneymaker. Though, I always viewed BC not as a revenue stream but rather a service of goodwill offered to the writing community.

This next week should be telling. Sometimes a lack of words tells a bigger story. I am holding out hope, however tenuous, in the short term.

I only joined last year, but I could have sworn Book Country was more lively back then. I was excited to be a part of the community, had contacts who I could PM and have conversations with. Now, I PM someone and usually don't hear back.

I'm hoping Book Country bounces back. I wouldn't be as far in my writing journey as I am now if not for the wonderful guidance I received from people on this site. Let's see a revival, please?

Patience is a virtue, they say. I sent a pm to Debasree and she replied in a very timely manner so all is not lost on BC. You may have noticed an increase in activity on the Facebook and Twitter feeds. Debasree is the one pushing the posts and tweets. She did mention she will be posting here on the site soon.

I am taking this as a good sign. A change of skipper always has the boat rocking for a while. I expected as such with Lucy moving on. But we can help keep the sails full. BC is a somewhat public site and we, well, we are the public.

In the meantime, I am back to editing using ProWritingAid software. I don't get kickbacks from them but it would be worth a writer's while to check into it. Takes care of most of the basic errors that a human editor spends time (and your money) on.