News Update

A few updated news items:

I talked to my editor this afternoon, and I feel much better. It doesn't sound like I'm being left out in the cold.

My TV came back to life this afternoon. I was able to watch the evening news on it and got a full-screen picture. Even so, my parents have declared that they're giving me a new TV for my birthday, and they'll even come over to help me transport it from the store and then into my house. Yay! I'm not sure how much longer the current TV will hold out, but I still have my little dorm room TV in my bedroom, and if all else fails, I can turn Sci Fi Friday into a slumber party.

And finally, the big news:

I FINISHED THE BOOK!!!! It's done! And I like it! I LOVE the ending, though I may need to tinker with it a bit to get the maximum impact. I usually end up rewriting the ending a few times before I even go back and work on the rest of the book.

Finishing a book is kind of bittersweet. There's the huge relief that it's done, but also some sadness because it's over. There's no more discovery. I know what happens. There may be editing and revising, but I'll never again get to see this story unfold for the first time.

The next book I write most likely will not be part of this series. I do want to write more stories in this series, and I have at least one, maybe even two, that I really must write (even if the publisher doesn't want them, I'd probably feel compelled to write at least the last book and find some other way of getting it out there). But I also do want to do other stuff, and now's the time to start proving to the publishing world that I can do other stuff. I also think that writing something else entirely different will help me write the series books better because that will stretch me. I'd like to do kind of what Sophie Kinsella seems to be doing with her Shopaholic series, where she alternates a Shopaholic book with a standalone book.

But for now, I'm going to take a break from writing (other than polishing chapters and sending them to Mom) until after the RWA conference, when I'll get this book to my agent to look at while I work on edits on book 3. Tomorrow, though, is Pirates day!! Yo ho ho and a bottle of Dr Pepper!

(Sorry, I get a bit giddy upon finishing a book.)