Last night before going to bed, I emailed the current draft of Loving Miss Darcy to my beta readers. This is far from the end of the editing process, but for now, I am done. Done!! DONE!!!

*insert maniacal laughter here*

It is possible this book has stolen what little sanity I had left. I had reached the point where I could no longer distinguish the good parts from the bad parts. Liz told me not to include zombies; I seriously considered it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is when you know it’s time to stand up and leave the table.

(I’m really resisting breaking into a rendition of “The Gambler” here…)

What does this mean in terms of publication? It means that I’m hopefully on schedule to finish before the end of November, which was my goal. If I’m lucky enough to have notes when I get back from Europe, I’ll go over them in the few extra days off that I have before returning to work. Then I’ll print the sucker out again and buckle down for one more massive edit before sending the book to a few cold readers. If they like it, I’ll send it to the proof reader, and it’s all downhill from there!

For now, it means I am on VACATION!! I may not leave the country until next Wednesday, but my brain has checked out. It’s amazing how much lighter I feel, not having this edit weighing me down.

I’m doing a lot of reading in all that free time, so keep your eyes open for a special On My Bookshelf post next Tuesday, complete with a few links to reviews I’ve done recently.

And by the by, I need a hashtag for my trip! Any suggestions? Basic itinerary: London, Cardiff for the Doctor Who Experience, and Munich for a week.