I've Gone Dark

In the Chrysalis of Creation

I was going to publish my book in March of 2023.… Then my amazing beta readers came to the rescue! They gave me such wonderful feedback that I knew I still had some work to do. It wasn’t a lot of work per se, but I realized that, especially with an abortion memoir, it was crucial to write high-quality content and with the right tone so that the story I tell is appropriately sensitive as well as cohesive.

I quickly got to work—and just as quickly got stuck. I knew what I needed to do. My beta readers’ incredible insights showed me exactly where I could fill in some gaps and otherwise provide more context for a better reading experience. It was so obvious what I needed to say, but the right words would just Not. Come. Out.

Sitting in the bog of revisions felt more agonizing than writing, well … an abortion memoir. Day after day I would sit and accomplish little to nothing. I finally realized that this is what a caterpillar must feel like when it’s inside its chrysalis turning into a butterfly. Precisely when it traps itself is when all the magic is happening. The caterpillar can’t “try” harder to make the process faster. It has to sit there engulfed in a capsule of its own guts while its body literally rearranges itself into something completely different. I don’t know about the caterpillar, but that sounds disgusting and uncomfortable, and that’s exactly how I was feeling.

I stopped trying so hard. When school let out I allowed myself to enjoy the summer holidays with my family. We took day trips into Lisbon, spent dreamy afternoons in Sintra, experienced a medieval festival in Obidos, and had lots of beach days. Only after school opened again in September, did I tentatively sit back down with my manuscript.

What a metamorphosis! The words were finally available and gushed out quite impressively. Now the only thing still tripping me up was the back-of-the-book description. I must have written it, trashed it, and written it again about seven times. I’ll share it in the next article.

Currently, I’m formatting the book, and I’ve just hired the artist to design the book cover. My question for today is would you like to see the book design now or be surprised when the book comes out. Please push the button below to comment with “Show me!” or “Surprise me!”