After years of working on my first novel, The Flames Of Guilt, I am finally down to the final edit. This is it. My last chance to catch mistakes, make changes, and tweak my prose and dialogue. The Flames Of Guilt, in its humble beginnings, started out as a fan fiction story. It has since gotten a complete overhaul, both by me and by my editor. It has turned from a sappy love story, to one of kingdom politics and the human condition – encapsulating the need for companionship, trust, loyalty, life, death, and moral and ethical duties. I’m excited for this piece of me to finally be let loose on the unsuspecting reading-world, but until then, I’m taking my time to run through it just once more.

It’s both scary and exciting to think that, here very shortly, it will be done. I won’t be able to change anything else. The words I’ve chosen will be permanent. The characters will be living, breathing, and out on their own – away from my protective grasp. The plot twists and ending, for better or worse, will be as they are. There will be no more adding or subtracting. No more puppeteering from me.

The work, of course, is far from over. Even after the editing is finished, there’s an endless amount of tasks still at hand. From publishing to promoting, it will be a life-long affair with The Flames Of Guilt for me. The difference, however, is that my role will change. My first novel will no longer be a work in progress. It will be a finished piece, and for that, I believe I am finally ready. It is finally ready. I’ve had short stories published in the past, and looking back over them after they are out of my hands, it’s satisfying to have a small body of work that I’m steadily trying to grow. But this, this is my first novel, a project that has been consuming for the last few years.

It’s more than a milestone – it’s a life’s dream about to come true.