A few minutes ago, I wrote ‘The End’ at the bottom of the final page of Without Mercy (Siobhan Dunmoore Book 5).  It’s the first draft, of course, so there’s plenty of work still left, but finally getting it done, eight months behind schedule, is a nice feeling.  As with the others in the series, it comes in at about 400 pages in the print edition.  I’ve promised myself a weekend of relaxation, far from the computer and the art of writing, before plunging back into things.  And just so I keep that promise, I’ve given myself another spaceship model kit to build over the weekend, though not one from the Siobhan Dunmoore or Decker’s War universe, but from a vintage TV science-fiction series I still remember with nostalgia.  It, more than anything else, got me into imagining my own stories.  I’ll put up a picture of the model once it’s built.

What comes after Without Mercy?  If you’ve been paying attention to my blog and website, you’ll have noticed the book cover for the next Decker’s War adventure, titled Hard Strike has been posted.  That’s what I intend to work on next, before plunging into Ashes of Empire: Imperial Twilight, the sequel to my most recently published novel.

But for at least the next few days, I’m stepping away from writing to enjoy life a little.