I can sleep when I'm Dead

I remember writing Crimson Moon vividly. The story just kept getting larger, and larger, and larger... Before long, I knew it would have to be broken up in at least three separate installments. There was simply too much material and, at the time, I was incredibly wordy (I did try to scale that down in edits). When I finished Crimson Moon, it topped out at a insane 98k words, and as shocked as I was, I was somehow equally proud for writing this whopper of an epic.

Fast forward a few months.

Those three-hundred and forty-eight pages have been absolute hell to edit. I've read the story probably thirty times, and each one is a test in patience. For one thing, my writing has changed significantly. So when I go back and read through CM, I find what I consider to be monumental flaws. It's not easy, and I've struggled not to change the material too much to continue with the same voice and "feel", if you will. After all, the editor chose it "as-is", not some altered version of what I think it should be. I'm not sure if this is a result of my editors at Amira (who have taught me invaluable lessons on editing) or if it's because my writing has matured (CM was conceived as a YA), but I can't help but wince when I read the story and note all the 'sighs' and 'chuckles'. *cringe*

I finished the final galleys last night and sent them in. I'm very anxious, as my editor will be passing them along to the senior-editor and getting that all important release date. I've always tried to be neutral with what reviewers think of my work because it's so subjective, but this story is very special to me. You won't find oodles of smut, and I'll confess here and now to having portions of adverb repetition (I didn't know any better, honestly). I simply hope that others enjoy the journey of reading it as much as I did creating it.

Now, it's on to Crimson Sunrise. I know I said I'd partake in NaNo, and I still intend to. But I have to get on the move and start getting more work completed and submitted.

I can sleep when I'm dead.