writing her characters. Christine cackles and tells me she’s already cleared it
with Marion (don’t ask me how she got the phone number!), and everything is
effervescent. Two days later, she hands me the story, and I still haven’t gotten
around to looking up ‘effervescent’ in the dictionary.
With seven stories now in hand, I declare Thieves’ World I to be complete and
begin writing my ‘fun fun’ essay. The stories from Marion and Phil can wait
until the second book.
Then Marion’s story arrives.
Marion’s story interfaces so nicely with Christine’s that I decide to use them
both in the first book. Rather than cut one of the • other stories, the volume
is assembled with intros, maps, eight stories, and essay, crated, and shipped
off to New York.
Endo volume one! Print it!
The whole whirlwind process of editing this monster child was only vaguely as I
had imagined it would be. Still, in hindsight, I loved it. With all the worries
and panics, the skyhigh phone bills and the higher bar bills, I loved every
minute. I find myself actually looking forward to the next volume … and that’s
what worries me!