If the word “anticipation” reminds me of a Carly Simon song, will I be dating myself? Or will the reference go right over your head?

What I’m anticipating right now has nothing to do with the good old days of Simon’s music. It has everything to do with what happens once you turn a completed manuscript in to your editor. After cyberspace sucked Silenced in Seaside—book three in my Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series—out of my computer onto a desktop in London, I had to blink myself awake. I came up for air, re-entered the real world, let go of my characters just enough to do something besides think about ways to mire them in the muck of murder.

Fortunately, this summer a trip to Santa Fe eased me through Saffi Graywood withdrawal. That first breath of air, however, was at 7,100 feet and added to the vertigo I was already feeling. I wobbled around a bit that first day. It took three tries to find a latte I could love (thanks Iconik Coffee!) and one bite to fall in love with the blue-corn coated fish tacos at Tres Colores on the plaza.

Now that I’m home, ensconced in my RV beneath the towering redwood tree, I’m working on social media posts. I have a lot to learn. Sigh. And I’m anticipating notes from my wonderful Storm Publishing editor, Kate. The feeling is somewhere between excitement and… not dread, because Kate’s notes are spot on and invigorating. They always make my books better. It’s more a niggling fear… mouselike—with tiny sharp teeth gnawing at a dark corner of my subconscious.

Within a day or two, I’ll be nose deep in Kate’s vision for how to make book three the best it can be. I’m anticipating the structural revision with excitement. I’ll have less time to spend on social media (for which my friends, relatives, followers, and readers will probably be grateful). Murder in Last Chance Cove will be in the much more capable hands of Storm’s marketing experts (Thank you Anna and Else!). And I can cut and paste and create… all in anticipation of the line edit, copy edit, proofread, and final read-through to come.