Yippe-Ki-YEAY!

Yes, that victory shout that broke the sound barrier on Wednesday about noon was me meeting my deadline. Phew!

Not only did I meet my deadline, but the Reading Gods sent me two great books to fuel the final leg of the revision. They must have heard me whining. The first book was Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach and was a delightfully satisfying mystery that delved into some fun literary history. What I loved most about the story was its surprising emotional ending and the protagonist, Hero. I thought the author did a fabulous job of really nailing that sense of what its like to not be popular and always have to worry about social interactions.

The second book, Emma Jean Lazaus Fell Out Of A Tree by Lauren Tarshis was equally fabulous. The thing I loved most about this book was the voice. Gawd. I'm tempted to put a sign above my computer, It's the voice, stupid! The book came just in time to illustrate that I'd completely dropped my main character's voice for about half my novel and switched into a more distant author-speak. It made for an extra scramble there at the end with tons more rewriting, but I was able to crawl more deeply into poor Nathaniel's skin and get him on the page.

Another thing Tarshis did extremely well was her use of a concrete object. A concrete object is some physical prop that absorbs emotional meaning throughout the story. I'll talk about those here on the blog in a few days--once I find my brain again. Now I'm off to grocery shop and clean the bathrooms. What? That's not how you celebrate finishing a novel??