Final Polish

I can't believe the time has actually come to do a final read-through of my manuscript. It has almost taken me this entire year to get this story down on paper, and as novels go, it's very short... a mere 49,000 words. But I'm proud of every single word, because it came from a place of creativity inside of myself that I always knew I had but never before had the courage to explore.

Writing a romance novel, specifically for Harlequin, has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I think the very first one that I read was given to me in 7th grade by a girl named Shameka McGriff, and it had the cover torn off so that teachers and parents couldn't tell what it was. I think it must have been a Harlequin Presents, and man was it sexy. I still remember what that book was about, even if I've long forgotten the name or the author. It was my first adult romance and I was hooked.

For years, I used to browse book stores for books about writing and daydream about the plots of the many books I'd love to write, but for some stupid reason, I never actually sat down to write one. I guess it was fear that kept me away. But not this year. This year, I sat down and wrote an entire romance novel from start to finish. And yesterday, I finished the second draft. It's so close now I can taste it. No matter what happens when this manuscript gets to NY, this moment is something I will always remember, and writing this novel is something I can always be proud of.