Surfacing

Ding, dong, the New Beast is dead. Well, okay, not dead, but delivered. Under word count slightly, but on time. This project was without question the most difficult one I've ever undertaken. So much so, in fact, that I don't think I'll ever work on one like it again. I'd not realized at the start that the process would be quite so painstaking, and that having to remain stringently faithful to the setting on which the game was based would prove so difficult. But it was.

Truth be told, it would not have been possible to finish on time with a manuscript that was even vaguely coherent if it weren't for the willingness of MLW to make time for me to write. If I were to calculate an hourly rate for the work that I generated over the life of this particular project, I'd probably weep. MLW has always allowed me plenty of space to devote to this hobby, oftentime to the detriment of her work life and our home life. This time, I'm not proud to say I demanded more from her than was fair. And although I've said as much in private, I think a "public" statement is also in order: Thank you, honey--I'm sorry.

Almost two weeks after I sent in my piece of the puzzle, I still feel like I'm slowly emerging from the morass of the last few months. A gradual re-awakening, if you will, made more ironic presently because of the fact that I'm so, so tired.