Today's the day the book is officially released. People have begun to receive them in their mailboxes (or directly from me for some locals). Somebody already posted a sentence from the novel on Facebook and the book is on a few "Currently Reading" shelves at Goodreads. In other words, there's no turning back -- it's out there. I will admit to some nervousness since this project has largely been cordoned off from the general public as I worked on it. For some reason I am reminded of the maxim that's it's better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt...
That said, it does feel good to finally be at this point and it does seem to provide some kind of closure on this project. (I have been reminded that this project could have been an everlasting one since until now I could keep going back to it and doing more edits*). I have had ideas and thoughts for future writing projects spring up in my mind much more often than usual in the last few weeks.
So, I hope you enjoy, and let me know your thoughts after you've read it. I will still be posting further on this blog now and again as I have some additional material that I've been referring to as "detritus from the writing process" and which I am determining how to use.
If you've been waiting until the official release date to order, you can do it here. (If you're local to the DC Metro region and our paths will cross soon, you can also get a copy from me and save the shipping charge).
*A friend (another writer) emailed me today with this helpful note: "I think here of an interview I heard with Sherman Alexie where he said that he didn't really like his latest book, but part of the craft of being an author is getting your work printed and out there and then you move on to the next thing, even if you're not totally happy with the final product. I was a bit shocked to hear this at the time, but then I kind of admired it and figured I could learn from that kind of attitude."
