Friday was a historic day for me: I finished my first full-length novel. Really finished. Not finished, like I thought it was on revisions 1 thru 7. Not finished like the last time I showed it to my critique group, who proceeded to show me every plot hole and loose end. No, this one is really finished. As in done. As in sent off to ARC readers to do their worst. 

Before you get the wrong impression, I am more grateful to my crit group than I can properly express. Without them my book would be far less polished and nowhere near as good. When I publish it, they will top my acknowledgements list.

I don't know how solitary writers do it, the loneliness is awful. I took a month off from my group to concentrate on finishing the final draft and it was harder than I could have imagined. 

Now the hard work begins: keeping up this blog, finding an agent or an indie publisher, starting the publicity and the promotions. And continuing to write, all the time, in every situation. 

Avante!