At last

It looks like I'm finally done with my independent project . . . nearly a month later than my projection. My personal editor is doing a final run-through. I must really love this story; it's been a real pain to get it finished. I've revised and revised the revisions. I've proofed until my vision blurred. And I'm delighted with the result. But I don't know if I'll ever want to do it again.

I'm thrilled that the writing is finished, but this hardly means an end to those 6-hour nights (regarding sleeping). Now I'm starting the crush to get my manuscript in to Dafina by the due date. That's going to be a job-and-a-half.

More about my project in the coming weeks, including why I've been knocking myself out these past few months to get it done. I will tell you that it's a contemporary romance, and the subject matter is the same as Sandra Bullock's new movie, which finished in first place at the box office.

In the meantime, for any of you who happen to be aspiring writers, my agent, Elaine English, has a new blog, mostly written by her assistant, Naomi, who handles much of the day-to-day workings and who offers valuable advice. So click here to see what Elaine, Naomi, and the office interns have to say about submitting and publishing in general.

I've been working with Elaine for about six years, and I met her for the very first time a couple of weeks ago, when she had a layover in Milwaukee on her way home from an RWA Chapter conference in the Green Bay area. We had a very long lunch at a restaurant near the airport, and it was wonderful to meet her. She's a peach.

I'm a very lucky writer.