Thank you so much for this thoughtful (and kind!) comment. I think you're right about the hands -- I think body language is as important to dialogue as what the people are saying, and I like to be able to "see" a conversation set in a particular time and place. So I spend some time with that. Sometimes I wonder if the pace suffers for that, so your statement to the contrary is particularly gratifying. ;)

re. writing a pure villain: Good question. I don't really know; as you noted, I haven't really tried. The thing is, no one thinks that they're a villain. No one sane wakes up in the morning and says "Hmm, I think I'll do evil today"; everyone thinks they have good intentions. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and I tend to write characters with that in mind. Interesting observation; I'll have to think on it some more.