When I first walked into my Advanced Fiction Workshop class, I didn't know that I was going to eventually complete a 50K manuscript. Life throws twists like that, I guess.

Traitor of the Veil started as a small, ~3K short story. I immediately saw the potential. I felt like I had so much more story to tell, and not enough space to tell it in a class.

Thus began my journey. I stayed up until 3 A.M. every night, feverishly pouring out my ideas. It started messily, as almost all manuscripts do. When I finally wrote the last chapter (or so I thought), I sat back, stared at the screen, and grumbled, "This is way too dang short."

I slowly built on the manuscript more. Added more emotional beats here, flashbacks there. Finally...after months of hard work...I buried my face in my hands when I discovered that I'd finally hit 50K.

I couldn't believe it. It felt amazing. I had told the story I'd wanted to tell, and almost immediately, new ideas started flowing in for a sequel. Naturally, I shut my laptop and went, "Sleep first."

And there you have it, fellow archivists. That long, sweat-inducing journey ended with an extremely rewarding outcome. If I could do it...you can, too.

In the meantime, enjoy my sassy co-editor, Lilly (pictured above).