This isn’t a review, because I don’t think I could review my own work. I mean, I’m rather biased — although the direction of that bias depends on the day. But I have to mark the day somehow.
We are, fittingly, close to a year and a half from the first words set to paper (well, digital paper) of what ultimately became Entangled with the Earl. I’m not sure the first draft will ever see the light of day; I wrote it during a caffeine fueled frenzy in an attempt to actually complete NaNoWriMo. (I succeeded, although the book itself wasn’t finished until December.) Subsequent drafts erased one character, changed the plot, and saved the book.
The temptation to keep working on it, to continue to iterate through the drafts is still there. I suspect every writer goes through that, and it’s a struggle to know when to let the story go and share it with others. A struggle and terrifying, honestly. Is anyone going to like it? Is anyone going to read it? Do I even know how I feel about any answer to that question? (The answer to that last one is no, definitely not.)
Martin and Teresa’s story is one that even took me by surprise. I thought I had an idea of how the story would go, but both of them are strong-minded characters who took one look at the story and veered off in a different direction. I can’t say I objected too much. They’ve become friends — one would hope so after we’ve spent a year and a half together — and I hope you’ll enjoy meeting them too. And it is time, because another story calls from the horizon — another couple waiting to surprise me with their own twists and turns.
So here we go, into uncharted waters. Not that this entire endeavor hasn’t been an exercise in discovery, from writing to editing to cover design to (the still-to-be-sorted-out) marketing to formatting. (And probably a few other things I’m forgetting.) And now most of it is done, and I will go from having written a book to having released a book. Like many a new author, I’m sure I will spend the day trying not to look at reviews (or guessing whether there will be any at all!) and procrastinating in the time-honored fashion of cleaning my desk.
Also on the to do list for tomorrow? Solidifying the outline for the next book in the Tangled Threads series. If you’re interested, join my newsletter — all my announcements will get posted there first!
Happy reading and help your fellow readers out with a review, if you feel so moved! I’ll have my next book review up on Friday.