The End is Just the Beginning.

The End is Just the Beginning.

I typed “The End” on the first draft of my 9th Blackthorne, Inc. novel last week. It came in at just over 100,000 words, which is “normal” for my first drafts. It’s also longer than I want it to be, but tightening is part of the process. Each word needs to earn its bit of real estate on the page, and I know I’ll be cutting a lot of unnecessary deadwood.

After celebrating reaching “The End” with a bottle of bubbly (shared with The Hubster, of course), and taking...