I must say, this is going along much better than I thought it would.

I spent the last week doing my first read-through of the manuscript, and I was pleasantly surprised at how often it had me in stitches. Sometimes I forget that I’m writing these books for my own amusement as much as anything else. Another week’s worth of work should go into this before it is ready for a first beta-read. That’s always the true test. What does someone else, someone who doesn’t live in my head and hasn’t written the book, think of it?

There are a few things I didn’t get around to putting in the first draft, and I’m afraid they might be left out all together because the book’s already a little long (90,000 words compared to The Neverland Wars at 75,000 words…basically the difference between a 300 page book and a 360-pager.) But that’s what sequel-sequels are for, right? I’ve a got a third book in this trilogy still to write.

Long story short, my incredible bipolar relationship with my writing has swung back into an overwhelmingly positive thing, and I’m just going to enjoy that feeling while it is here.

Life has been good lately, and it looks like it is only going to get better. Not this weekend but next, Zaq and I are driving out to Santa Fe for a weekend of art, music, and general revelry to celebrate the opening night of “The House of Eternal Return,” an abandoned bowling alley George R.R. Martin bought and turned into a giant interactive jungle-gym art show fantasy novel. Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley will be playing. It’s probably going to be the best night of my life.

Afterwards, Zaq is taking a spell back home in Washington to see his family, and then coming down for a much-needed break from school. He’s been going non-stop with internships and summer classes and heavy course loads since we graduated high school, so a quarter off is going to give him time to deal with all my panic, hysteria, and anxiety, which will only intensify as the book release draws nearer.

I’m actually doing really well. The apprehensions are (on the whole) ebbing away the closer we get to release and the more I get comfortable in the idea that this is actually happening. You’d be surprised how long it takes for it to really sink in.

On another note, I’ve been making boba tea! I love it to death, but there are no good places for it near me. So, out of a remarkably motivated laziness, I’ve started trying to figure how to boil my own tapioca pearls. The dough never is the right consistency, they’re misshapen and lumpy, they never turn black, but I’ve finally got them tasting good and chewy!