The End

Or is it The Beginning?

Being able to type The End on a manuscript you've been working on for months is a great feeling for any author. You've run it through your initial editing steps, and it's ready. Your baby is now able to face the world. So, what comes next?

Perhaps you have a trusted reader or two who you can rely on to beta read the manuscript and give you solid advice on what it's lacking. Because, trust me, there will be something lacking. You go through it one more time, hoping you can keep your hands off the keyboard and just read it. (Never happens.)

Then, taking a big gulp, you either send it out to publishers or you place it in the hands of an editor and start to think about covers and blurbs. It's the end of one phase of your story, but the beginning of another. No longer is the story just between you and the pages. You're now ready to have it face the world.

And hope they approve.

Fingers crossed.

I Can Relate Anything To Editing!

Right now, I'm frantically going through the mortgage process. Form letters, 1099s from years ago, bank statements, etc. If you've ever purchased a home, you know the drill. At the same time, I'm going through my manuscript a chapter at a time, trying to piece together the story line. These two simultaneous events have made me realize how similar they are. Allow me to explain.

My manuscript is a Regency, which has its own set of rules and regulations. I have to stop every time I mention a device and check (had the steam engine been invented by 1823? What style of gown was worn for everyday versus evening? Were shawls used or coats?)

Each detail needs verification. Same thing with the mortgage–every bank in which I have money has to be documented.
This particular manuscript features a Scottish hero, which presents its own set of problems–what do you call the pouch that's part of a proud Scotsman's attire? How is the Scottish accent different from the English accent and how can it be described in words? Same thing with the mortgage documentation. Some of the forms that I need to get to them are 3 feet long. How do you copy something like that? I tried several different times, copying 11 inches at a time and then piecing them all together before finding the same document on-line and could download it as a pdf file. The mortgage company wouldn't accept my copy and paste job but they gladly took the pdf.

Then there's the final checklist.

As I mailed off the package to the mortgage company, I compiled a list of everything that it contained. Only then did I realize I'd forgotten one thing or another. Same with my manuscript. I have a checklist that I use and scour each chapter with, looking for overused words, wrong words, equal representation of the senses, etc. Both of these steps are laborious, tedious, and absolutely essential to getting the proper result.

Hopefully, both the mortgage and the manuscript will be finalized within weeks of one another. Then, I'll wipe the slate clean and move on to the next project–unpacking my stuff that's been in storage for months and unpacking my ideas for the next book in my Regency series and start putting everything together again. Stay tuned.

A New Set Of Eyes

After the big garage sale weekend, I still have a house to sell. Admittedly, it's got a lot less stuff in it, but still. I worked upstairs today, moving things around to make the spare room look not so spare. Pat's stuff is all packed up in the basement, but she's now going through the kitchen and separating out her things there. We've been living together for four years now, so a lot of our stuff has co-mingled. But now I'm starting to look at the house with a new set of eyes, as if I were seeing it for the first time. I'm trying to remember what about the house appealed to me in the first place and play that up. Which I can now do, since the clutter is gone.

So the basement has been cleared out, and by today, when the next potential buyers come through, Pat may have enough stuff packed so her room will look organized. It's been a challenge to trim the fat from the house, but it feels really good to know that now everything I am left with has a purpose and a reason for me transporting it hundreds of miles.

Which, of course, got me to thinking about my editing process. Clearing the house has been so similar to what I go through in my writing, it's almost eerie. In the months it takes me to write a first draft, I add things in along the way, some good, some brilliant, some really bad. I leave it all in, carting it around with me, until it's time to clean things up, to edit my messy first draft. Just as I've gone room by room through the house, paring things down, I do so with my draft. Sentence by sentence, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, I start cleaning, tightening, and making certain everything I keep has a purpose, a reason for being in the book. Then I'll let my beta readers take a look at it with their fresh eyes.

My rule of thumb for deciding whether to keep something or dispose of it in the house has been if I had touched it in the past eight years or not, the length of time I've lived here. It amazed me to see the moving stickers from my previous move still on way too much stuff. Which means, it hadn't been used since I've been here. As I work through my draft, I try to apply the same logic. I cut out the things that don't work, that aren't needed. Lines that sound wonky either need to be kicked to the curb or cleaned up.

Look out, wonky wordage. I'm here to take you down.

Finding The Lemonade

As most of you who follow this blog are aware, I'm trying to sell my house in order to downsize to a two-bedroom place rather than the four I now have. The home has been on the market for three months now, with several nibbles but no bites.

Rather than panic at the delay, I've decided to look on the bright side. To make lemonade from the lemons. This delay gives me time to leisurely go through all my books, clothing and pictures and determine which I'll keep and which Goodwill will get. Second, I'm taking the time to research places to move to, weighing the options of not only the city and state, but rather to rent first, do I want a ranch or will one set of stairs be okay, will Mary still have a yard to play in, etc. And because I never know when someone will want to see the house, it stays clean.


I'm also trying to find the lemonade in my writing. The edits for my next book seem to be taking forever. As I looked over the latest round, I decided rather than complain about it, I'd accept the fact the book was to the halfway point in the editor's comments. So I'm half done with it. I'll go through the remaining pages and try to circumvent any other problems and send it back. Instead of having half the book to go, I'm halfway done. Glass half full rather than half empty.

So, the house is being gradually decluttered, the process of finding a new place is being winnowed down, my book is halfway through the editing process, and my new WIP is taking shape, 1000 words at a time. Summer's on its way, so it's a perfect time for lemonade.

Reassessing--It's Not Just For Editing

You know how it is. You are rolling merrily along on your story. Words are coming to you faster than you can write them down, your story arc is so compelling, and you are completely in love with your hero. Then you step away for a day, come back to your work and wonder what planet your brain was on when you wrote such drivel.

The same thing is happening to me right now, in real life. I had a contract on the house. The potential buyers showed up on my doorstep right around Christmas asking if I'd like to sell. What a great idea! We began working together, things were clicking, and then the inspector came. And stayed.

Five hours later, the potential buyers backed out of the deal, since the inspector uncovered some things I didn't even know about. My house flunked, was bleeding red ink.

So now it's time to reassess. Decide what to do. As I do with every book I write, when it comes time to edit, I make up a checklist of things to watch out for during my first edit. I need to do the same with the house. My first question when I finish a first draft is--Is this a good idea?

Applying that to the house, I asked myself--Is a move the best idea? Yes, I still believe it is. This house is too big for one person, even with a dog. I no longer can handle the upkeeping chores that need done. I don't have the resources to fix the problems the inspector found.

What should be my next step? With my manuscript, the next step would be to go through it, a scene at a time, and remove the fluff, the repetition, the extra commas. Does the scene accomplish what it needs to? Does it move the plot along? So my next step with the house is to meet with my agent, review the listing, add a disclosure sheet and lower the price. Lowering the price is the right way to move the plot along and get me to new living quarters. Much like  an editor, my agent will tell me what needs modification, and how to make the house appealing. I may not like what I hear from an editor or my agent, but they both have the same agenda--to pound my work, or my house, into the best possible shape so it can be sold. So, I'll swallow my ego and follow their advice. We'll see where it leads.

Stay tuned.

On a professional note, I'm becoming the Bundle Queen. In addition to my bundle of all the Cotillion books, in April one of my books. The Forgotten Debutante, will become part of a new bundle called Love In Wartime. And then, in May, another of my books, Expressly Yours, Samantha, will be included in a bundle called Wild, Wild West. These latest bundles are so new, I don't have links for them yet, but here's a sneak peek at the cover of the Love In Wartime.

Holding Pattern

Lately, I've been feeling like I'm an airplane over O'Hare Airport, stuck in a holding pattern and hoping I can land before I run out of fuel. I've accepted a contract on the house, but until the inspection and appraiser give it their blessing, I can't take the next step and sign on the dotted line for my new place. I can't even decide which state I'll be in, since my sister who lives with me is still checking on the viability of returning to Phoenix, where she lived for so many years. We'll figure it all out soon, but in the mean time, I'm clearing out the clutter, selling off some of my furniture since I'm downsizing from a four-bedroom house with a basement to a two-bedroom something or the other. Baby steps forward. First thing on my agenda is to train my dog, Mary, how to ride in the car. She likes my lap, but she needs to learn to like the back seat.

And professionally, I'm taking baby steps as well. I finished my workshop last Friday. My instructor was the mighty Lori Wilde, who told me she was enjoying my manuscript and it was different! Due to a few emergencies, she couldn't get the edited version of my manuscript back yet, but it's the first in a Regency series, and I didn't want it to read like all the other Regencies out there. Mission accomplished, I guess. Now, I need to finish it, taking Lori's suggestions, tweaking my work to a polished format and then sending it out there. Did I mention it's about roses?

On the contemporary front, I just received my second edits for Sweet Caroline, my second Lobster Cove book with Wild Rose. The editor for my Wild Rose books is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of working with, but she's tough. Especially when it comes to commas and the word "it." There's a lot of work to do on that manuscript to pound it into shape. I'll be working on that today.

I usually do my best work amidst chaos, but even I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. I need to land soon! Or maybe pack a box.

Editing, Round 2

I got my second round of edits this week for the Christmas novella. Which immediately made me reach for my chain saw.

This unusual gut reaction to editing really does make sense. Let me explain. Editing an entire manuscript can be overwhelming, but if you approach it a chapter at a time, it's doable. Same thing with a tree branch. It can be bulky and heavy to start with, but when it gets cut into sizable chunks, it's easy to maneuver.

I cut some words from a chapter, and then cut some logs. I'm making my manuscript tidy at the same time I'm cleaning up my woodpile. I once dated a man from Vermont, where wood fires are common. He told me you should never put a Vermonter in front of an unstacked pile of wood, because they wouldn't come inside until it was arranged in a logical, neat order. It's the same with editing. You're not done until you can read through your entire document with your fingers off the keyboard.

Since this is a novella, there aren't that many chapters to get through, so it should take no longer than a couple days to do the work. Which is good, since I only have three more branches to chop up.

One Last Time

Final galleys were delivered this week. If you're a published author, you know what that means. This is the final check to go over your manuscript. Yeah, that one. The manuscript you've labored over for months, the one where you've got parts of it memorized, your baby. Surely since you've gone over it with a fine-tooth comb for months now, run it through your multiple check lists, there can't be anything wrong with it at this late stage. Right?

Wrong!

At the galley stage, you can't alter the timeline or make excessive changes. According to the instructions from my publisher, we can only make changes to typos or very glaring punctuation errors.

Right now, with five chapters left to read, I've found six errors that fit the parameters given by the publisher. Of course, if I could make more severe changes, I would, since we all know a work is never finished.


"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile."--Robert Cormier

Food for thought.

What stories can you give about proofing your work?

Author Shorthand

I'm one of a whole herd of writers who write a very loose and sloppy first draft, then spend months going back over it, smoothing it out, filling in the blanks, adding scenes that were skipped over in our haste to put an ending on the manuscript. One of the things that gets done during this style of writing is we use placeholders, a type of author shorthand, for various emotions. If you're an author, you know what I mean. It's a roll of the eyes, chewing on the lip, running one's hand over someone. We know there are better ways of expressing disdain, nervousness or endearment, and we'll get to it during the second, third or fourth draft of the project.

There's nothing wrong with this approach to writing, as long as, during the editing stage, you do, in fact, take the time to remove the shorthand, and in its place, add in a unique turn of phrase to convey what you mean.


My crutch seems to be running one's hand down, over, into another person. And I never realized it until I was going through my latest round of edits from my publisher. My first editor didn't flag my constant use of the crutch, but the second one pointed out each and every one. And boy, there were a ton! This is romance, so some touching is to be expected. But, I overused. I relied on the running of hands to convey they sense of touch, when there are so many other ways to get the point across, if I'd only taken the time.

Needless to say, I did take the time in this round of edits to eliminate my author shorthand, and to insert other ways to get my point across. Now I have one more thing to add to my author checklist–don't overuse running of the hands. Once or twice in a story is fine, but beyond that, it should be avoided.

How about you? What author shorthand do you have, if any? Are you aware of it when you're using it? At what point do you go back and fill in the shorthand with what you really meant to say?

The Dreaded Second Draft

Those of you who follow along with this blog know that I recently finished the flash first draft of my new historical. Now the fun begins. Or the misery, depending on your point of view. I start over, from the beginning, and read each scene. I have my check list to make certain I include all the senses along the way. Taste is the tricky one for me. It doesn't need to be in every scene, or even every chapter, but it does need to appear at some point.


Then, there's my check list of words. I have my list of passive words, to be avoided at all costs. Then I move on to my list of favorite words, that I tend to overuse. I don't need to eliminate all of them, just cut them by 2/3.

While I'm combing through my scenes, I like to think big picture, too. Am I rushing the story? Do I need to add in scenes? In this particular book, I do need to add a few scenes in the front part of the book, to show how the hero is cementing his relationship with the children as well as the heroine. I often will work on a jigsaw puzzle when I get to this stage of the editing process. There's a great similarity between working on a jigsaw puzzle and finding ways to slip in new scenes into a story line. Here's a picture of my latest puzzle, which took many weeks to complete.

I like big, intricate puzzles, since they remind me of my stories. This puzzle in particular is loaded up with so many little things that you can't possibly see them all unless you're working with each piece. For instance, in this one, I noticed, just as I was about done, that one of the bottles on the shelf had his spindly little arms and hands wrapped around the neck of the bottle next to him. It made me smile. A little hidden nugget, the kind I like to blend into my story lines.

The puzzle is done, and I'm nearly at the end of the second draft. Still a long ways to go, with those pesky scenes that need to be written and inserted into the story line without upsetting the flow. Drafts three and four are yet to come before I can say I'm content with it. But at least I'm moving forward with what I think is a really good story. I'll be sure to let you know if an agent or editor thinks the same. 

In the meantime, here's a picture of Mary in her new bed, which was a belated Christmas present. She had to wait until I could drive again in order to get it, but I think she'll agree that it was worth waiting for. Kind of like getting an offer from an agent or editor. 

More Time In The Editing Cave

As most of you know, I've been editing and re-editing my manuscript The Forgotten Debutante. It's been going fairly well, but one scene, the Thanksgiving dinner, wasn't coming together as it should have. I had my two females, Saffron and Grace, discuss the menu, make certain the silver was polished and the tablecloth was clean. But then I glossed over the meal altogether. Left it on the proverbial table, as it were.

After thinking about it for a few days, I went back and added in one paragraph about the dinner, and thought I had it fixed. I just reread the section again and I realized my hero, Zeke, was jumping up and down trying to get my attention.

"I want to taste the pie, not just see it, Becky," Zeke yelled at me from across the table. "And what about the mashed potatoes and gravy? Did they just eat themselves?" When he picked up a dinner roll and lobbed it in my direction, I flung my hands in the air.

Okay, okay, Zeke, calm down. I went back to my paragraph about the dinner and added in some actual conversation, referred to the two available pies, and how Zeke could have a slice of both, etc, etc, etc. Finally, Zeke had a full belly and he quit yelling at me.

My dog, Mary, has lately been reacting the same as Zeke. She's decided she likes to cuddle, either with my sister on the couch, or with me in my chair. Since she's a puppy mill rescue dog, she never learned how to jump up on the furniture, so we need to pick her up each time. Picking her up is still a challenge, though, since she needs to be herded into her little bed (not the big one, mind you). But once she's in her safe place, she'll allow us to pick her up, and she'll loll for hours in one place or the other.

A few days ago, she sat quietly with Pat in the morning when I was working. Then, she got up for a potty break, came back in the house, and went to her little bed. I headed for my chair to check my emails. She got out of her bed, stared a hole through me until I looked up from the screen. When she had my full attention she gave a full body sigh, nodded her head in the direction of the bed and walked back to it, ready to be picked up. Thank goodness, there were no dinner rolls in the house.

So I missed Mary's cues, just as I had Zeke's. Time to pull my head away from the computer and pay attention to the folks that matter.

Hopefully, both Zeke and Mary have now been taken care of. I haven't heard either of them yelling at me today.

The Editing Cave

For about the past month, I've been in editing mode. The ninth and final book in my Cotillion Ball series is due to the publisher in a matter of weeks, and i'm tediously going through my checklist as I hone my rough first draft into a final version.

I took a workshop last month through RWA and the instructor made a comment that a first draft can be so rough it can sand wood. But, with the proper editing, no one will know what the first version looked like. As the child of a homebuilder, I love the analogy.

Stephen King once said, “To write is human, to edit is divine.” I knew we were kindred spirits. 

For me, the first draft is merely the first step. Each time I go back through my manuscript, from start to finish on each occasion, I have a set order to my process. Six, seven, eight times through. It doesn't matter how many times I comb through it. Each time, I'm looking at some different aspect of my work. Finally, when I can read through it with my hands off the keyboard, I can send it off. 

As I write this, I'm about 2/3 of the way through the fifth draft of the story, making what I hope will be my final edits–adding in the missing words, tying up the loose story threads, adding description and texture to the story. I should be able to finish it up by next week, and then read through it once or twice more before I send it off. But if it takes more read-throughs before I can keep my hands off the keyboard, so be it. Some books are harder to write than others. 

Every author has a different approach to the creation of a story. Some write out of order, laying down scenes as they appear in the author's imagination and then piecing them together like a big jigsaw puzzle. I admire these writers, since I can't do it. Some use an outline and synopsis to make it clear to themselves which way the story should go. I use this linear approach, but don't make it so detailed the story and characters can't surprise me as I write. 

Whatever process one goes through to get to the final, shiny, polished story, it shouldn't be rushed. There are too many books out there with typos and poor grammar, in both the traditional press and self-published works. I want my manuscript to be as clean as it can be when I let it go. If all the niggling little things are done when it goes to my editor, she can concentrate on the story line and strengthen that, instead of worrying over too many commas and the difference between heard and herd. 

For everyone participating in NaNoWriMo, I hope you take the month of December to turn your piece of sandpaper into a shiny, polished pearl before you send it off to an agent or publisher. Don't rush the process. The end result will be worth it. 

To Self-Pub or Not? That Is The Question.

Like most authors today, I've considered self-publication. The control of the entire process, from editing to cover design, to price, to placement, has a certain appeal. And the increased royalties and accounting from Amazon certainly have an appeal. All my friends who have already taken the plunge assure me that, although it involves multiple steps, it's not hard to do. A piece of cake.

Yet, each time I seriously consider it, something always happens. As is the case with a lot of us aging boomers, computers are a friend and a foe. Just when I think things are going along fine, and that I can take on the challenge of self-publication, I have a day like yesterday.

I needed to print out, sign and scan a document, which I was to email back to complete my transaction. My computer and printer have worked together fine for the last six months, so I thought my simple task would be quick and easy. A piece of cake. Yet when it came time for my printer and computer to relate, they refused to talk to each other. It was as if they were two little school kids, pointing fingers at each other.

"It's the computer's fault!" yelled my printer, flashing lights and refusing to scan.

"No, it's not! The computer's fine. It's the printer who doesn't want to work!" The computer showed me a screen with a grin, evidence it was hooked up properly to the printer.

I could get nowhere, so I decided to just put the document in the mail instead. The old-fashioned way. The way I'm used to dealing with things.

So, if I were to take on the challenge of self-pubbing, what would happen to my book if, once again, my computer and printer act like spoiled children in the school yard? I don't know. But I don't think I can mail it in.

And the not knowing is what scares me into once again resisting the urge to take the next step. If anyone has any ideas on how to get beyond this, I'd love to hear them.

Moving Things Around

Jigsaw puzzles play a big part in my life. I have found, when I'm having trouble with a scene, or a plot line, the best thing to do is to step away from the manuscript and work on a puzzle. Somehow, the mindless sorting of pieces, and then locking them together into an intricate pattern helps me sort through the plot possibilities of my story and I can then write the scene in its logical order.

This familiarity with jigsaws worked for me when it was requested that I move a scene in my most recent book, A Widow's Salvation, due out on September 7. I had to take that piece, that scene, out from its place in the story, reposition it, and then write around it to make certain all the edges matched up again, and that it locked together seamlessly into the story line.

Now, the puzzle pieces are invading my personal life. As most of you know, I've had some medical issues, and the decision was made to move my bed from the second floor. The only place it would fit on the first floor was my office–that sanctified space where all of my books have been written. Now, the desk is shoved up against the wall and my bed takes up most of the room. I'm still trying to get the edges to match up.

One thing that I've noticed, though, by combining my sleep and work space is that there is no hard and fast dividing line. If I have a scene rolling around in my head, or some social media I need to work on, I don't need to lie there wide awake and wait until morning. Now, I can just jump out of bed and be at my desk, my computer, in no time. Obviously, I need to work on control issues. And I need to sort out those jigsaw edges.

But I have to admit, in all my years of working for someone else, I never wanted to jump out of bed and go to work. I'll take a few ragged jigsaw pieces. Mary likes the fact that I can work from home. That's enough for me.

Open House

Most of you who follow this blog know my house in Oberlin is on the market. So today, we're having the first open house for it. We're frantically cleaning each room, putting a spit shine on every piece of furniture, emptying wastebaskets, tucking the extra dog bed out on the screened porch and running the Swiffer one final time over the floors. Then, we put fresh flowers in each room for added ambiance, turn it over to the real estate agents, and leave, hoping for a sale.

I can't help but compare it to the editing process. You knew that was coming, didn't you?

During editing, I go chapter by chapter over the manuscript as I format it, searching for overused words and phrases, making certain all the senses are represented equally and adequately, that I've added in description, visceral responses, some hopefully witty narrative, and given my characters solid reasons why they are resisting each other. I make certain I'm staying in one person's head throughout the entire scene. Taking care of the basics, sweeping away the heavy debris.

When I'm done with the hard edits, I'll go back over the manuscript a second time, reading it through from start to finish, putting a spit shine on each word, phrase, sentence. I look through the file of unused scenes to see if anything is worthy of being put back into the story, and if not, I empty the file. I clean each scene of extraneous materials by eliminating words and phrases that go nowhere, or add nothing to the story.

Then, I read it again. I run through the manuscript one more time, catching typos, extra commas, odd phrasing, making certain I have the same eye color for the hero throughout and that the heroine doesn't change her clothes mid-scene, unless she's supposed to. When I'm done with this read, I'll go back once more and see if there's any place I can add to the story to make it more effective. To add ambiance.

Only then do I consider my work ready for a publisher's eyes. If I'm fortunate enough to capture the eye of a publisher, they turn my manuscript over to their production department and the editing process begins again. By the time the book releases, I will have read it over and over at least seven or eight times, to the point where I have parts of it memorized. In the end, the manuscript leaves my hands, and I hope for a sale.

I just finished the final edits of A Widow's Salvation, due out September 7. It's now left my hands for good, and I'm hoping for a sale come September. Or two. Or two thousand. We'll see how it goes.

Back To Normal

One of the best things about being an author (at least in my opinion) is the multitude of types of work involved. Right now, I'm involved in the following:

1)  final edits for A Widow's Salvation–lots of tedious reading of line by line to catch typos, lost quote marks, and the like. It's scheduled for release on September 7.

2) I try to add 1,000 words a day to my WIP, the last book in the Cotillion Ball Series–the creative part of my day. The Forgotten Debutante, about Saffron Fitzpatrick, will be released in the Spring of 2016.

3) I check emails and collect my number of visitors to my website and blog–the strategic part of the day.

4) And I am lining up guest blog appearances, finding reviewers for my book, and deciding on which ad campaign, if any, will work best–the marketing part. I really love to answer the questions other bloggers pose to me. I never thought I'd enjoy that part of the business as much as I do. A pleasant surprise.

In my spare time, I am searching for a new house to live in, and we go out two or three times a week on a scouting mission.

And, there's always the other WIP, which I desperately want to finish by the end of the year. I found a model last year who is my inspiration for Raoul, or Lone Wolf. Maybe I don't want to finish the book because I'd have to remove the image?

If I run out of things to do, I have another workshop queued up and ready to go so I can become a better writer.

It's always something.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

What are you doing this week?

Paring Down

Every author has his or her own writing habits that they fall into. Repetition, overuse of the same body language, tired, worn out cliches, that type of thing. These habits are okay for a first draft, but when you're in editing mode, as I've been these last few weeks, it's time to take the scissors to the manuscript, and cut all these bad habits from your work. Word count goes out the window in favor of producing an end product that's lean, where every scene advances the story line, where every word and every paragraph is essential to the story.

The same scenario is playing out in my life as well as in my manuscripts. My home was placed on the market last week, with the end goal of downsizing to a single story home that's more easily navigable for those of us with joint problems, and easier to take care of. So, I've started paring down my possessions and decluttering the house. I've almost got a handle on the clutter, but the paring down of what's accumulated over the years will take awhile. My rule of thumb is if I haven't looked at the box or item, or worn the article of clothing in the six years I've lived here, it's time to toss it. I'm cutting out all the repetition, all the worn out cliches, all the paperwork from years ago, etc. It's time to get mean and lean, since I'm hoping to decrease my floor space by about half. I will brutally edit all extraneous material from my life, just as I do with my manuscripts.

Big changes are coming in my life. My edits went back yesterday to the publisher. Book 8 in my series–A Widow's Salvation–was the most difficult book for me to write in the series, but I think the end product is one of my best.

Now I can only hope the move to a smaller house, which will be the most difficult move of my life,
will end up being one of my best decisions ever.