What’s New?

If you’ve been following along on my Facebook  page, you know that I’m currently in the “cutting” part of writing Masque of Honor. When every word has been carefully vetted, it is a pretty painful process to decide which fruit of your labor will not make it into the bassinet. I know the reasons why it has to be so, but it still doesn’t make the process any easier from my parental and partisan point of view. Its nerve-wracking.

I have cut over 18,000 words from the manuscript so far. SO. FAR. I’d been warned about this, but in this regard it IS a little bit like giving birth. If you’ve done it once, you know how painful it can be. And yet, often you choose to do it again. Because your selective memory allows you to remember only the good, not when you wanted to cry from pain and frustration and sometimes even rage.

I have had the good fortune to have several opportunities to share snippets of Masque with others recently, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly favorable.  This has brought me relief as well as tremendous joy, much like you feel when you’ve brought a child into the world. So as many other parents have done, and many who have birthed works of art or music or poetry, we continue on, because we know that in the end, the reward is always worth the risk. 

Writing a book is in and of itself a solitary business, but once you lift your head up from the manuscript you realize you have the collaboration, sometimes purposeful, other times inadvertent of others who want your ‘baby” to be born happy and healthy too. My team meets again soon for another strategy session, and plans are taking shape. Excited for the birthday!