I’m a perfectionist, and I know that doesn’t help, but I have never found it easy to let go of a WIP. This is for various reasons:

• I don’t want to leave my characters, in that stage of their lives, behind.
• I’m never satisfied with how things read.
• I always want to make things tighter, more concise.
• There’s always more work that can be done to improve a novel, always.
• I get comfortable with routine and structure, and what I know. Once I’m at the revision stage of a novel, I know it well, and I’m in my comfort zone.
• Did I mention I am a perfectionist?

Nevertheless, as my brother and his wife mentioned recently–providentially in my hearing, because we weren’t talking about my novels, I don’t think–no work of art is ever “finished.” No work of art is ever “done.” It’s never going to be “good enough,” in the sense of complete, perfect, sublimated above all potential improvement.

You never “finish” a work of art. There just comes a point when you stop working on it.

There comes a point when your novel truly is ready for beta readers, and then truly ready for an editor. After that, there comes a moment when you DO need to send it to the proofreader, and then stop working on it, for good.

Everyone is different. Some people reach a point where they feel comfortable letting go of a novel after two months. Some need eight years. As long you’re using editors and proofreaders, I don’t see a problem with either approach.

Some people write slowly and obsess. I’m one of those. Which is why I’m so excited to have reached the point where I’m putting my trilogy back out into the world, starting with the first installment on June 15.

This has been a ten year journey coming full circle, as I’ve mentioned before. It’s a real milestone, a real moment of change, a shifting of place and of priorities.

And it feels wonderful. I went about crafting my fiction in the way that suits me, and I’m fine with that. I’m not in competition with anyone else. The only standards that matter to me are God’s. I’m confident in the story I’m putting out, in so many ways. I reached this point when I was meant to, in the only way I could–a way that saw me growing spiritually and emotionally and not just professionally or in number of titles under my name.

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COMING JUNE 15

Not a soul in Herezoth is safe while evil sorcerer, Zalski Forzythe, reigns supreme.

There was a time when the magicked and commoners lived in peace. The Hall of Sorcery hidden high in the mountains was a place of reverence . . .

Until the vicious sorcerer Hansrelto came to call. His attempted overthrow may have failed, but a terrorizing rampage through the nearby villages did enough damage to mar the reputation of the peaceful magicked ones for generations to come.

Nearly a millennium passed . . .

Inspired by Hansrelto’s efforts, wicked sorcerer Zalski Forzythe successfully executes a coup and slaughters the royal family, taking over the nation of Herezoth.

The people are burdened with two-thirds taxes, violent terror, and forced allegiance. The crushing boot on the neck seems relentless.

But there is hope . . .

A team of rebels known as the Crimson League leads the charge toward freedom.

And legend has it, the Marked One will rise up to end the dystopian nightmare.

Through sword and sorcery, the forces of good and evil match off in The Herezoth Trilogy’s first installment, The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope!