A thing happened yesterday. Two years of my writing life came to an end. ‘Sword & Soul’ was sent to Creative James Media.

Thia, Jinaari, Adam, and Caelynn’s story is now complete.

Yes, I know I typed ‘The End’ a few weeks ago. That was the soft closure. It went to my betas, who added their input. A new chapter was needed. I got it written, tweaked the last two chapters. Went back through and did a verbal edit; reading the entire story out loud to myself.

You catch a lot of errors that way. Repeated words, the wrong one, or sentence flow that reads okay but isn’t.

At first, I was elated. I changed the file name to include ‘final’, sent it to my publisher and my fellow Hobos. They let me borrow their characters, run amok with them, and deserve an early peek at the end.

In two years, I’d written a complete trilogy. Each book coming in over 90k words. A story that I’m proud of. One that I can’t wait to share with the world.

Slowly, though, another realization set in. For the first time in five years, I didn’t have to wonder what happened next for Thia. And, yeah, that made me sad in a way.

Is she real? No. She only lives in my mind, or on the pages of the books. I’m happy with how I played her as a character in D&D, and how I wrote her in the trilogy. I started the books because, among other reasons, I wasn’t ready to let go of her. Sure, we’d retired that band of characters. We’re in a new game now, with new characters.

Now, though….now I can let go.

Editing is still ahead of me. I should see the copy/line edits for ‘Scales & Stingers’ sometime in June. My editor with CJM should get ‘Shield & Scepter’ sometime this summer. She’s excited to know ‘Sword & Soul’ is done and waiting for her.

There’s still blurbs to write….promotions to do….cover art to share with the world…book launch events to set up.

Today, I’m heading off to play D&D. I can celebrate with the group, talk over small bits that perhaps they’ve read in book 3.

When I’m done and come home, I know I’ll have let go the rest of the way. Thia’s story is done. It’s time to rest, recognize the impact this series had on me. Emotionally, mentally, creatively.

When the hangover is gone, the words will flow on the new story.

BB/Chan Eil Eagal Orm