I will never forget the moment when I held the galley of my first book in my hand. I happened to be in the Flatiron District in NYC when my lovely editor at St. Martin's Press emailed me to say they had arrived. "Why don't you come over and get one?" she suggested, as their offices were in the area.

I road the pre-war elevator up and, when she handed me the arc with a smile, I was overcome. A galley looks and feels like a real book -- and this was the first time I was seeing my manuscript, my words, as an actual, physical novel!

I held it together in front of her, thankfully, but when I boarded the elevator to ride back down, I was vibrating with adrenalin. In fact, I was so distracted that I got off at -- not one, not two, but THREE -- wrong floors before arriving in the lobby and shuffling outside.

On the sidewalk, I clutched that galley to my chest like a baby and cried.

Sooo, it's safe to say that I love the galley stage of the publishing process (which is also the first time that multiple strangers begin reading the book -- uh oh) -- and that remained true this time around, when Blackstone Publishing sent me a box of (literally and truly) the most beautiful galleys! So much shinier and more polished than I could have imagined.

At a time in the world that feels very much in flux, it feels so fortunate to have a glimpse of the future in this promising form.

xo - N.