A Double Shot of Jack Daniels...

I'm sitting back with a double shot of Jack Daniels. After months and months of writing, weeks and weeks of edits, more than one nuclear meltdown wherein I cursed Bill Gates and damned Microsoft and its obscure formatting glitches to the bowels of hades, and after far too many sleepless nights and even more days where I was up well before dawn, I can breathe a deep, contented sigh of relief. I can kick back and languidly sip at my double shot of my favorite drink. I will sleep the sleep of contented bliss that only comes when one is finished with their current work in progress.

My little 125,032 word novel, Findley's Lass, is finally, unequivocally, undeniably complete.

On the morrow I will submit my latest creation to the wonderful people at Lightning Source Publishing.  I shall also spend the day preparing my baby for release to Kindle, iBooks, Smashwords and B&N's Nook.  Thankfully the formatting for iBooks and Nook are the same. However that can't be said for Kindle and Smashwords as each have their own little formatting standards that I must heed.

I swear at times that writing is similar to being pregnant and giving birth. Minus the actual physical labor pains of course. And minus the epidural or shots of demerol. (Toward the end, when I was having my nuclear meltdown over page numbers not numbering correctly, I would not have turned down either!)

It is with great anticipation that I look forward to releasing Findley's Lass to the great big world. I an proud of this second book and I do feel the writing is significantly better than my first published piece. I can only hope and pray that my readers feel the same. If the beta readers are to be trusted, (and they always are) it is much better than the first.

The whiskey, along with the satisfaction of finally completing the book, leaves me with a warm, fuzzy sensation. ;o) And before you ask, I was feeling this way before I poured the double shot!

I cannot express enough my gratitude to my beta readers, my fellow author friends, and my family as well as my readers. Without all of you, Findley's Lass would not have been nearly as much fun to write! A special thanks to Carl Purdon (who I truly do hope to write like someday!), Laura Howard for her wicked sense of humor, for Ashley Barron for her keen mental intellect and savvy business sense, and last but not least, Melissa Foster for having such a sweet and positive attitude.

I cannot forget my beautiful editor, Judy. She is one of the most remarkable women that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, someone I look up to. While I don't particularly pay attention to the technical side of things, Judy does. She caught everyone of my dangling participles. (I'm still trying to figure out what the hell those are exactly! lol) She is just an amazing woman and I hope to be as kind, thoughtful, and technically keen as she someday.

And if it weren't for my husband and son, who happily dined on hot dogs and macaroni and cheese more times than I care to admit that I served, I'd still be plugging away somewhere in the middle of the book. My husband and son are just beautiful men and I can't thank them enough. This book is for them, and all the meals I didn't cook, for putting away all the dishes and laundry that I didn't wash, and for keeping my spirits up when I felt like crying.

I'm thankful for my dad, my brothers, and all the strong men in my life. I'm thankful for friends and family whose faith and belief in me I still find quite amazing.

I am also quite thankful (and more often than not quite humbled by) for my readers. Without all of you, this dream of mine would not be coming true. I owe it all to each of you.

I'm also thankful for quiet moments like this, where I quietly sit back and think about the whole writing process. I look forward with giddy excitement at writing the story of Wee William's Woman. I've learned even more about writing with Findley's Lass, but I do look forward to learning even more as I write Wee William's story. ;o)

I'm also quite thankful for Jack Daniels whiskey. Smooth, warm, rich....mmmmm...good stuff Maynard.

Happy reading, happy writing, and happy dreams to all of you.

Hugs,
Suzan