Finito!

I metaphorically typed "The End" to the manuscript about an hour ago. I've never actually typed "The End" at the end of a book, even though the style sheets of old recommended it. I'm not sure why. I also don't do cover sheets although I probably should. I never seem to remember them until months later when the ce manuscript wings its way back to me and I see one on the top of the stack of pages and feel a momentary rush of embarrassment.

Anyway, I'm done. Or at least I think I am. I've been toying with the idea of an epilogue. The reader in me loves epilogues. That leap forward in time that lets you take a peek at the characters and how it all worked out is catnip to this reader's soul. But as a writer I'm a bit more skeptical. Does writing an epilogue mean I didn't get it right the first time? Is it the lazy writer's way out? Or is it a juicy present the writer gives herself and her readers, a reassurance that in a complicated, changeable, crazy world some people really do find a way to live happily ever after.

Beats me.

So I'm debating that right now. Is there anything else we really need to know about the characters or is it better to turn out the lights, shut the door, and leave the rest up to our individual imaginations.

Later today I'm off to Paris. My physical self will be right here in central NJ but my imagination is sailing off across the ocean to the most romantic city on earth as I jump back into next year's Harlequin novella.


A photo of Friday's supper. The recipe is on my website - Tex-Amish Chicken Corn Chowder.

Barbara