It's a wrap! -Or- "When I crossed the finish line!" :)

This morning at 9:00 a.m. exactly I typed the very last words of Fly Away Home. I had been writing for two and a half hours straight, and it felt like a flash--that beautiful, dizzying momentum one builds at the end of a tale. I am going to miss Callie and Mr. Barnett so so so much....thankfully that friendless-ness will be postponed a while because I know I have plenty of editing with which to hobnob with them in the weeks to come. I am so blessed by this story. So pleased with the characters, the plot, the tensions, the message...it's a real accomplishment for me. So. In celebration I thought I'd give you a quick Ten Random Facts list about this new-born book!

1. It will be receiving a new name: not sure what this will entail, but Fly Away Home is already a movie so I am renaming the book.

2. First Word: "I'm"

3. Last Word: "Coffee"

4. Favorite Side-Character: Dirigible. He's just a random dude that popped in unexpectedly toward the end of the book and I love him.

5. The book actually ends with the same line that the short story that inspired the book ends with: "...how about coffee?" *smile* :)

6. Total word count: 59, 755 words

7. There was a major plot-shift at the half-way point that definitely hiked up the LOCK appeal.

8. Mr. Barnett and Callie have their own form of verbal sparring (quite literally a form) that occurs multiple times, including in the last scene. :)

9. The theme-song for the book is "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin

10. All the specifically named guests (besides Mr. Barnett, Callie, and one other couple) that go on the yachting outing are real celebrities from the early 1950's...including a special appearance by David Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriet." :)

And so we part. :' )

It is finished. I have just completed The Scarlet-Gypsy Song! I am almost sorry to be done with this book--it is my favorite of all my "children". But I will not be dismal. It is a great triumph to have written a book in just 4 months, in my opinion. :) I also went past my goal-length, which was another triumph, and I had success with plotting and pacing! The last chapter might just be my favorite...I will say, the last chapter will probably make you cry. :P

So here are the Stats:

Clocked in at: 75,543 words
Chapters: 24
First line: "There was Nannykins to begin with, but she had a bad knee and left for the North."
Last line: "The End is rather a long way off, I think; we've only just come to the Once Upon a Time." :)  Favorite Character: Diccon Quarry--First Lord of the East Striding
Least Favorite Character: Dear-Heart, actually. She irritated me for some reason--she's rather a busy-body.

Needless to say, I am very happy today. :)