a pause while I bask in the feeling of accomplishment

56,400 words, and aside from all the people named ? and the matter of [trade agreement:], that's the first half of The Goblin Emperor completed, with Chekhov's gun collection hanging over the mantel where it belongs.

That's the good news.

The even better news is that I know what happens in the second half of the book.

The word I am looking for here is w00t!