It’s the end of the trail . . . at least that’s what it looks like to the heroine in my romantic suspense, A RISK-TAKING RANGER. And it’s “The End” for me as well as this latest project wrapped up yesterday on page 315 at 80K words after a very satisfying read-through. I can certainly relate to this scene’s reluctance to let go . . .

The Excerpt

“So, what’s next?” Nora looked to him then frowned when his set expression grew even more remote. Her tone sharpened. “A little late in the game to ask me to step aside for my own safety, Ranger Bass, so I wouldn’t suggest you go there.”
Silence thickened like the dust cloud billowing behind them until he finally got to what darkened his mood.
“It’s time for you to head back to that comfortably messy apartment in Chicago and let us do our job without having to worry about you, too.”
Her jaw dropped. Even expecting him to come up with something equally unacceptable in the macho department, those words cut deeper than simple exclusion from their case. He wanted her gone, out from under his feet, out of sight and mind and potentially heart. For a moment, she couldn’t think around the huge swell of hurt. She waited for some contentious warnings and arguments to resurface but none did . . . because he was right.
(…and a bit more…)
Worrying about her was no help to the task set before him. All she’d done was tangle about his feet like an overly eager annoyance that distracted him from what he needed to focus upon. What Lenna Lupan needed him to focus upon.
She sat back in her seat and stared straight ahead toward the destination she no longer anticipated—the end of their collaboration and whatever it might have led to beyond her goal to protect other innocent girls from being carelessly discarded.
So, when Zayn rolled to a stop to drop her off by the dumpsters like trash that had begun to smell, she was out of the car and striding toward the casino entrance without a look back over her shoulder. Nothing to see there, anyway.

Now comes the really hard work . . . deciding what to do with that finished book. First, I’ll be sending it out to a couple of readers to search out those dangling participles/pieces of plot line. Then it’s decision time: Traditional or Self-pub? It’ll probably be an after the first of the year issue, but I’m not concerned about finding something to do in the meantime...

When you reach the end of one trail, it’s time to start on another. While I’m waiting to find out what will happen with my romantic suspense, I’m going to do something I’ve wanted to do for a loooong time – take a trip back to the past, not just historically but into my own publishing history. And the best place to start, as far as Dana Ransom is concerned, is at the beginning of my Bass family Texas historicals. It’s not going to be quick or easy because I’ll have to hunt for text files for the books. Time to scour my office nooks and crannies to see what might turn up . . . and give it a good cleaning while I’m at it!

But first, time to go revisit those Thanksgiving leftovers to enjoy while I see what you’ve been doing.

Giving Thanks for all of you!!

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