My mission, and unlike Mr. Phelps and/or Mr. Hunt*, I can’t choose to not accept, is to finish the line edits and revisions on my next Harlequin Desire by Friday. My wonderful editor hinted that I could probably have until Monday. Imma gonna need it! The line edits are pretty easy–track changes/accept/decline. It’s the comments (aka questions/suggestions) that show up in the margins. Yeah…it’s a case of “What was I thinking?!?! Oh, wait…I wasn’t.” And that’s my challenge. Of course, the Universe just had to butt in with this:

Challenges in life don’t arise haphazardly, Silver, no matter how accidental or coincidental they may seem.

They only arrive when you’re ready for them.

Tallyho,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Not when you’re ready to be squashed, Silver, but when you’re ready to grow, overcome, and be more than who you were before they arrived.

I’m lucky to have my editor. He challenges me to reach deep. He doesn’t let me get lazy and take the easy way out. And no matter how much I gritch about it, he always ALWAYS makes my books better. He makes me grow, overcome, and be more than the writer I was before. Each and every time. And he’s so danged nice about it. I always get some grins and giggles and “atta girls.” He reminds me why I wanted to be an author in the first place. Even while I’m saying bad words under my breath and considering squashing the book because…well, this one was ready to be fixed. And that’s what I’m doing. And it wasn’t an accident or coincident that these edits arrived now, when I’m looking a hard deadlines on two other projects. Because I’m getting through the doldrums and finding my writing mojo again. So…hurray for challenges! What’s your challenge this week?

*the two spy guys (old skool and new) who head up the Mission Impossible team. And I bet you’re humming the theme song right this instant. 😉