The goal was to have my book out to my beta readers by this week. In order to get there I had to cut down on some of my other commitments, but I made it. Two wonderful people already have their copies and I hope the other two will arrive in the next day or two so I can hand them over.
Putting “The End” to that first draft gave me some mixed reactions. Since this book will be the final installment of a trilogy, this milestone brought some surprising emotions. We spend so much time struggling to type those two words. Then, when it finally comes, we expect to be elated, to feel a sense of accomplishment, relief and even euphoria. At least I did.
The hard part is supposed to be over, right? Sure, there are revisions to make and endless rounds of editing but the story is complete. So why are those expected feelings so fleeting, or missing altogether? They were there when I completed the first book. What changed?
At first I thought I might be experiencing a reluctance to let go of my world, my characters and my story. And there is some of that, I agree. But there is much more to it. Continue reading “Breathe”
This post was prompted by a few passages and books I have seen that deal with spousal abuse. In my opinion, the patterns of behaviours did not fit what I know, both first hand and from my studies, about this issue. For the record, I have worked in a women’s shelter where I went through an extensive training program.