Do you have permission to waltz?

What do you do after you write "The End"?

I like to clean off my desk. It's an attractive antique table, but once I start in on a book, I don't see it again until I finish the manuscript. Here's what my desk looked like during revisions of A Sea Change:

I started the clean up by putting my books away. Some of the reference books hadn't gone back on the shelf in a year, so it was good to say goodbye to them, even if they were only moving a few feet away. I took the opportunity to dust my office bookshelves, even giving Pirate Barbie and Ken a swipe of the duster. You can see them in this shot. Notice that in my universe, Barbie wears the captain's hat:

My desk is a leather topped antique, so I wiped the top down with Neet's Foot oil, giving it a chance to really soak in and rehydrate the
leather.




My muse was on hand, sending theta waves of cleanliness and creativity in my direction as she supervised.

Finally, it was done. I polished the wood with pine oil soap, rubbed the Neet's Foot oil into the top and buffed it, cleaned my fountain pens, gave my lucky bamboo a drink so it would continue to be lucky, and wiped down the pirate chest of chocolate coins I take to book signings.

Here's my desk now, cleared for action and ready for me to begin my next historical!