Carefully read the following sentence: “The newly published book had international acclaim; however, Maria decided that it did not merit praise because of its limited character development.” Why is a semicolon used in this sentence? A. The semicolon links two closely related dependent clauses. B. The semicolon conveys an omission within the sentence. C. The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses. D. The semicolon marks off an indirect quotation.