Notice is out of my hands at this point. The last thing I did after I finished going over the final, proof-read version was to delete all my book marks, the little notes I’d made to myself that make no sense to anybody else but me. It’s like symbolically pulling myself out of the novel. It’s almost as bad as sending my first child off to college, which I went through a few years ago. I mean, she’s still my child and still comes home to do laundry, but it’s such a defining moment in a parent’s life, and yes, I cried all the way home. And then baked pies, for some reason.
Pulling out of a novel is very much the same. It will still always be mine, but I won’t ever see it the same way once it starts getting reviews and ratings and sales figures. Just as my now adult daughter reflects me in her behavior and the way she was raised, people who read my novel will see me in a slightly different way. I’m proud of Notice, and I think it will bring, if nothing else, some words about the importance of peace and love into the world, which certainly needs more peace and love. And that’s as philosophical about my work as I’m going to get.
Now, off to bake pies again!