I received a response about A Fate Worse from the agent in NYC on the 29th letting me know that although she felt I had a good style and a unique story, she did not feel enough connection with my main character to feel as if she could effectively represent my novel in the marketplace.  She encouraged me in the areas she felt were done well and suggested that I work on the dialogue more.  I had received this comment before, so I have decided to check with a friend here to see if she might be willing to read through it again and let me know how to make the characters and dialogue more authentic.  Many of the characters in this novel are African-American, and the main character is a single mother.  Since I am not any of this, and my friend is, I have turned to her for help here since I do like these characters, but I do not want them to sound silly or trite, either.  I'll keep you posted.