I am finally within a couple of days of finishing the first book in the trilogy of my Hong Kong revenge story space opera.  Working on the book is taking all my mental energy these days.  Even when I’m not sitting in front of the book files, the wheels are turning in my brain.  There’s so much I want to remember to put in or smooth out or polish up.

I’ve been through the editor’s notes and answered almost all of his questions.  There are a few more things I need to nail down tomorrow.  Then I want to go back through all the lists of things I’ve scribbled down as I’ve read and reread the book, make sure they have all been addressed.

My goal is to turn it all in by the end of the week.  Then I won’t see it again until the proofreader has been over it, but hopefully I won’t have screwed anything up too badly.  I’ve read the book over so many times now that I can’t see missing words or scrambled syntax any more.  I need to take a break from it, so I can see it again with fresh eyes.

This is the scary part for me.  I’ve put such incredible pressure on myself to make this book perfect that I had a panic attack yesterday.  Mason was able to talk me down, but it was a rough day.

One of the things I’m mulling is how to celebrate when this book is done.  When Brian and I finished As Above, So Below, we bought each other gifts.  I gave him a clock with Anton LaVey’s face on it.  He gave me a chrome-plated martini shaker engraved with “Lost Angels.”  They were the perfect mementos.

I don’t have much money to spend, what with the $580 parking fine I had to pay last month.  Even so, I’d like to get myself something concrete, but this rates more than another book or a pair of earrings or a slice of chocolate cake.

Do you have any suggestions?  What should I give myself or treat myself to in order to commemorate the end of Book 1?