This Is It!

For months now, I've been anxious, eager, both uncertain and excited about what the future holds at

the same time. For three years now, every six months, I had to meet a deadline. It helped me focus, figure out my timeline and marketing strategy. Along the way, I've honed my craft, although my editor still has to remind me to avoid duplicating myself, and to be consistent in my message–things I should have learned by now.

People have asked me how I'll feel once the final book is off to the printer. The best answer I could come up with until now is "I don't know, since it hasn't happened yet, but I expect it'll be like becoming an empty-nester."

Yesterday, I was asked to pick the art for my final cover and it finally sunk in that This Is It. The final one in the series. It doesn't matter that I'll use some of the secondary characters in off-shoot books, or that I have many other books ratting around in my head, just waiting for the opportunity to break through when I'm not planning on it. There will never be another Cotillion Ball Series,
and there will never be another family like the Fitzpatricks. I've felt like an honored guest at their table each week and have rejoiced and cried with them during their struggles, loves and losses.

So, I picked the cover art and received a satisfying shiver of excitement with my choice. The farewell tour will be fun to get through, since I love both Saffron and Zeke, and my favorite of the brothers, Halwyn, plays a prominent role in her story as well.

And, as for a farewell tour, I seem to recall that at one time or another, Sher, Madonna, Tina Turner and Celine Dion all announced they were doing a farewell tour and they're still grabbing the spotlight. I fully intend to follow suit. Just need a long black wig now.