Yesterday, I shipped off my final edits to my editor at my publishing house for my newest novel, Raphael, Painter in Rome (due out from Arcade in April 2020).

Today, I’ve been in the strangest mood, and I couldn’t figure out why. Until I realized…

I’m sad that this part of the journey is over. I’m sad that I won’t be waking up in the middle of the night with yet another story, character, sentence or word choice problem solved. I’m sad that Raphael won’t be able to tap me on the shoulder any longer and whisper some new idea. I’m sad that I’m done telling this story. I know Raphael has been dead for 500 years (as of April next year!), but still, I think I’m in mourning.

I love Oil and Marble, but this new book is more personal for me. I put more of myself into this work than I have into any other… And now, it’s done.

So, I think I’ll have a let down now. Just for a bit.

And then I’ll get right back out there, ready to go on the NEXT part of this journey, which is sharing Raphael with YOU! The featured image in this post is the (hopefully!) cover. And it’s already on pre-sale at Barnes & Nobel & Amazon. And I’m already scheduling book events for next spring…

So, after this minor pout session, I’ll be ready to open up my heart once again and read a bit of Raphael to you… and then go start this whole “writing a novel” thing all over again.

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