It took some time, but I got there. Almost. I think…

It’s but an interesting and frustrating journey. I at last finished the first draft of my novel. The manuscript is now with my brilliant editor. I’m looking forward to hearing her thoughts.

Some aspects of writing craft became more clear through these months, I suppose, like training for anything else in which you desire to excel. Other aspects became more vague and elusive. All in all, I have learned much about writing and about perspective. I feel like I have crossed over—I feel changed in some ways, strengthened in others, and likely weakened in spots too.

This photo is of a bridge I crossed in Honduras a few years ago. It led to an animal preserve filled with curious capuchins and bright lazy macaws. Birds and monkeys feature prominently in my novel, as does an independent little dog named after the Aztec god of art and Mexico’s flora.

*Bridge in Roatan, Honduras - K. Cummins*

I have shared little here lately as I’ve been working away on finishing this story, which happened a long time ago in a forgotten village laying in a valley in the deep forests of Latin America. I hope to share with you more news about the story in the not-to-distant future.

For now, I am ready to move on to the next project while I wait to hear on the manuscript. I’ll leave this story behind for a spell—though it will always be a part of me. I have some essays to arrange and refine. And a new story is boiling up in me and getting ready to come out. Fireflies…