She’s back.  And apparently has not lost a step:

On finishing “A Gate at the Stairs” I turned to the reader nearest to me and made her swear to read it immediately.

I wrote the novel’s ending years ago so in a sense I’ve been working towards it all the while.  Now as I get closer to it, I think it’s a very fine ending for a novel, but I’m not sure it’s the right ending for this one.  It’s too hopeful, and while I’m all about hope (not really), the book is about the opposite.  It’s no secret the book ends with a death (Spoiler alert: Book 4 is titled “The Death of Amanda N”), but it’s need an ending that accents the loss inherent in it.

Update:  I cut it all together.

…I hate having to backtrack and it looks like I may have to do that now. Sometimes I can sense I’ve made a wrong turn with a character.

Sometimes I spent a long time on something that I can’t get quite right. Then I’ll realize the reason it’s not right is that it doesn’t fit and I’ll cut it. You’d think it would be annoying to waste my time that way but it always leaves me feeling very pleased.

My tribute to my old friend Bull, who passed away last week.