Zombie Status

As I write this, I'm sitting in my bed with a big white dog curled at my feet and a cup of Bedtime tea sitting on my nightstand. It's twelve minutes shy of midnight on a Sunday. I have to be up for work in less than seven hours. After a busy weekend filled with country fairs and lots of boyfriend time and a hangover that was ridiculously awful (and totally unwarranted) I should be in a coma, or at the very least curled up under the covers with a good book. Problem is, I'm too keyed up to read and I'm definitely too excited to even think about sleeping. Why, do you ask? Well, the answer is pretty simple. 

MY NOVEL IS FINISHED! 

(cue trumpets and flashing lights and confetti)

You know the one I'm talking about, right? The one that was supposed to come out on Tuesday except I wasn't quite done the edits yet and I decided to add on an epilogue at the last minute. The novel I've been slaving over for the past four months. The novel that I've alternately wanted to hug and tear to shreds, depending on the daily word count (for the record, it ended up being 82,000 words -- my longest historical romance yet!). Yep, The Duke of St. Giles is finally finished... and I am beyond excited. 

Also nervous. 

And stressed. 

And hoping the past sixteen weeks I spent working on this puppy don't turn out to be for nothing. 

For me, releasing a new book is the equivalent of Christmas morning. On the one hand, I can't wait to open presents (AKA have TDOSG go live on Amazon & Barnes and Noble). On the other hand, what if the presents I've been waiting AN ENTIRE YEAR four months for suck the big one? What if I don't sell a single copy or (horror upon horrors) I do sell some copies but EVERYONE HATES IT and my career as a writer is OVER and all of my carefully crafted plans come crashing down around me? 

I know, totally melodramatic. But now it's only one minute shy of midnight, and I'm so jazzed up I know I won't get to sleep for at least another hour, and tomorrow is going to be total zombie status. But it will also be worth it, because when I wake up THE DUKE OF ST. GILES WILL BE ON AMAZON and I still can't even believe it's finished. Well, at least the writing part is finished. 

The promotion and advertising and cover reveals and blog interviews and contests and requests for book reviews have only just begun. As they say, a writer's work is never done. 

Since I'm already up, guess I might as well get busy.