Hearing the Book Out Loud

Nylena and I have been reading books together for many years.

Not “we both read sometimes.” I mean we pick a series, live in it, argue about it, and talk about it the whole way through.

That has been our thing forever.

So having her read my book out loud to me during this final polish has been surreal.

Brutal.

Kind of wonderful.

There is nothing quite like hearing a sentence you loved hit the air and immediately realizing it needs to die.

A lot of this pass has been that. Cutting the clever thing. Cutting the explanation. Cutting the line that was mostly there because I didn’t trust the scene enough.

Turns out, if the scene is doing its job, the reader does not need me standing beside it with a flashlight.

The best moments have been when Nylena starts reading faster because the book has her. When a character’s voice lands. When we both stop and know one word will make the whole thing sharper. When something I’ve worked on for years finally feels alive outside my own head.

That part has been addictive.

This story has been through so many versions, but this is the first one that feels like the book I was always trying to uncover.

The world was there. The characters were there. I just had to get enough of myself out of the way.

Honestly, I’m having the time of my life.