Ravenous Filed!

I filed "Ravenous" two weeks ago. The next morning, as I was getting ready to board a plane with my family for a vacation in southern California, I bumped into Michael Pollan. "May this be an auspicious sign, Lord," I thought silently.We got to Newport Beach and while I was working out in the hotel's exercise room, I noticed a leggy blond working out next to me. And I do mean leggy. I'm reasonably tall, but her legs came up to my pipick.Next to her, was a guy with a shock of blond hair. "I know him," I thought, trying to place his face. It was Rod Stewart, looking pretty darn fit for an alte cocka.I swam with the boys, read some books by Tamora Pierce, enjoyed an occasional Bloody Mary, trying to rest after the final mad dash to file my book. The subtitle of "Ravenous" is "A Food Lover's Search for Balance". I was ready to rename it, "The Big Shlepp".Scott, my husband, is really, and truly a brilliant editor. I knew my book needed work but after being in the thick of it for so long, couldn't say exactly what that was. He saw it, and through a remarkable process, got me there. Even in the midst of his own big projects, he gave me the time I needed to make my book better. Then he had the generosity and grace to say to me, "You had the vision, you built the ship, you sailed it across the ocean. I just pulled it into harbor."And now, I'm flailing a little bit. I've been, um, consumed by this book for over a year. There will be more work, of course. More editing. I have to re-design my website, create a YouTube video, but moving past the giant act of creating a book from just an idea leaves me a little bereft, a little empty. A weird in-between state.I should be grateful, at least, I reached the finish line -- happy, proud, sometimes limping and bitching, but done.