Alea Jacta Est

It was a busy week here at Casa Moorishgirl, while I put the finishing touches on The Things That Death Will Buy. Many thanks to Jim Ruland and Randa Jarrar, who took over for me while I was away.

There was something about knowing that this was my last chance to make any change that made me want to question every line, check every word, and sound out every line of dialogue. I did all that, and more, but now, at last, it’s all done. The final manuscript is a tad longer (and, I think, better) than the original one that was sent to the publisher.

I’m exhausted. My back hurts, my wrists ache, and I can barely keep my eyes open, but every time I look at that stack of pages, I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. Now all I have to do is send it out and let things be.

A writer friend of mine read the manuscript a few weeks ago and said, much to my surprise, that this was a ‘political book.’ I didn’t intend to write a political book at all. I was interested in four characters, and how they ended up making the choice to risk their lives to emigrate to Europe. But I suppose that, as I begun to discover more about their lives, it was inevitable that questions of class and gender would arise, and, since this was a book set at the turn of the last century in Morocco, that questions of religion and politics would also come up.

You’ll have a chance to find out for yourself, dear reader. Algonquin has decided to move the release of The Things That Death Will Buy to the fall, so it should be in bookstores in early October.

I’m on my way to bed. I hope to finally have time to catch up on email and blog very soon, so look for more posts in the early afternoon.