We're Cookin' With Gas Now, Baby

After diddling and dawdling all week, I finally sat down tonight and pounded out about 3,000 words, then I came home and didn't feel like quitting, so I wrote maybe 800-1,000 more. The official count now stands at 70,000. I have to do 10,000 in 10 days. Yes, I've wasted enough time to get back up to a K a day, although when I add in the extra bit I did tonight, the numbers will change in my favor.

The important thing is that we're into the big finale. All the major players have converged in one spot; the dominoes are falling, and all that is left is to ring that cowbell till it can't ring no more.

I got a fever! And the only cure... is more cowbell!

In other news, Baen's Universe finally sent me the copyedits to "Astromonkeys!" It's only ten days till official publication (and like a full month and a half after Matt got his, and he's not even in the first issue). I think they could have held onto it for another couple of days.

Know what, though? They got 'em to me, I got 'em back to them, and everybody's happy. Come May 31st, I'll be writing "The End" on my manuscript, and come June 1st, the original story goes live, and maybe my life changes. Because I really hope lots of people read this story and like it and ask the good folks at Baen for more. It won't win a Hugo or a Nebula, and it wasn't intended to. It was intended to entertain, and so far, the reaction is good, but I want it to be really good.

Because I want to sell more. Baen already has one sequel they're considering. Agog's still talking about publishing "Out of His League," but if they let it drop, I could shop it to Baen, as well.

I don't know how much Digger I'll have left in me after the novel's done, but I've got at least two more story ideas I'm toying with, and there are lots of interesting spaces in Digger's life that the novel has uncovered. If there's money in it, I'm sure I'll get around to exploring more of them someday.

It's almost midnight, and I have to get up before 5 a.m. for work, and I'm so giddy right now, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. Life's so great, it sucks!