How on Earth did I Sell This???

Seriously.

I've been asking myself this since yesterday afternoon, when the first edits for After the Storm arrived in my in-box.

How did I sell this story?

It's one of life's mysteries.

That's the only thing that makes sense. I can't tell you how many times I **facepalmed** while looking over the changes and comments my editor's requested. Some were so obviously goofs that I can't believe I didn't catch them before they went out (you know, I rewrote a scene, but when referring to it later on in another scene, I forgot about the rewrite and referred to something no longer in the book. Or in the wrong tense. D'oh!!!)

Or there's the strange case of The Disappearing/Missing Character.

You know, she's in the first third of the book (a secondary character, but with a rather important role) and then POOF!!! she vanishes without a trace. Got one of them, too. Guess I'll need to send a search party out for her and bring her back alive...

Overall, the changes my editor's requested aren't really major - and some of them I'm **headsmacking** over because how come I didn't think of them??? D'oh!!!

And some of the goofs are **facepalm** worthy as well, and that's when I wonder how the heck I ever sold this book in the first place.

Then there are the dreaded Overused Words and/or Phrases. Apparently, Miranda's toes curl. A lot. She should probably see a podiatrist about that, since by the end of the book those poor toes are tiny, curled up nubs that will probably never be the same again. Sigh. **facepalm**

On the other hand, some of the changes she's suggested are fantastic and I'm looking forward to rewriting the scenes as needed. The end result will be a stronger hero, and stronger heroine (with uncurled toes, no less) and an all-around better book. Yay!

Makes dealing with the embarrassing screwups a little easier to deal with. Well, sort of, anyway.