Sorry about the lack of updates–weekends aren’t the best time for me to make any headway, so I’m spending some time playing catch-up now.

Day 6 finds me closing in on the formatting of Widow Woman, Chapter 17 . I would’ve been farther along, but upon closer inspection of the very earliest chapters I wrote, I discovered that I had been operating with what Smashwords’ style guide calls a “common bad habit of all authors.” Er…I used my space bar in the early chapters to indent, rather than setting up a paragraph style. Yeah, yeah, I can hear you all groaning, but Smashwords says it’s common, so cut me some slack. I have learned my lesson (after seeing dots floating in front of my eyes all weekend, it was inevitable.) I feel like a writers’ Bart Simpson: “I will not use my space bar to indent. I will not use my space bar to indent. I will not use my space bar to indent.”

At any rate, that set me back a bit of time to go back and address all of that. But the important thing is that it’s all cleaned up now and I’m back to chugging along at a good pace. If I keep this up, I might just be finished within the week. Finished. Was there ever a more satisfying word?

Also received some preliminary cover art from my designer–chose my favorite of 3 renditions, asked for a slight hue adjustment, and am so excited at how it has turned out. I haven’t signed off on it yet, however. I’m pretty cautious when it comes to weighty decisions, and I think the cover art falls precisely into that category, so while I’m relatively certain it’s a go, I’m not ready to push the button just yet. Mostly, I think it’s just that I want to look at the cover design some more, to roll it around in my mind, ponder it…savor it.

Keeping the countdown rolling.