I typed "The End" today on [working title] "The Hot Pirate's Secret Baby", aka "The Pirate's Governess"

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Yep. Only five months after missing my self-imposed deadline, I've finished the first draft of novel #7. It's a great feeling, knowing I've got a book I can work with. Oh sure, there's still oodles to be done. Just an hour after I typed "The End" I jumped out of my chair at lunch, ran back to the computer, and changed the wording of the last sentence.

Now I'm going to clean it up. I'll go back through it and where I have brackets like this : [describe dress], [supper menu], [THIS MAKES NO D*MN SENSE AT ALL!!!] I'll fill in the blanks. Or make it make sense.

Then I'll let it sit for a week while I attend LoneStarCon3, the World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Some time away from the book will allow me to look at it with a fresh eye and catch mistakes before I send it to my beta readers.

When it's finally as clean and shiny as I can make it, I'll send it to my publisher, who'll let me know when it will be released.

In the meantime, I'm already thinking ahead to novel #8, jotting down notes and gathering research material. This time I hope to stick to my one year timetable. More on this as it develops.

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