Ah ... edits. Otherwise known as an unmentioned circle of somewhere hot and stinky. On some days. Other days, I can see the improvement that comes with each stroke of the editing hatchet: The remaining manuscript becomes much better. And it's quite startling how many times I struggle with a passage, only to realize I'm not getting it right because it's not what I'm supposed to be saying. My characters sometimes have to bash me over the head before I can see it, but when I do, it's a real "duh" moment. I changed the perspective of six chapters (yes, six!) after my editor had finished with the editing. She was so gracious about redoing the work (thanks, Patty!), but, honestly, Sam was sitting on my shoulder saying, "Hey, let me take the mic from my little brother. He can get his own turn in another book." Well, you know how brothers are. And I couldn't ignore him. So the process continues!
The joys of editing
