As of 2AM EDT on August 1, 2015, I’ve finished my first-draft manuscript of The Midnight Front, the start of my new original literary series for Tor Books. It comprises roughly 200,000 words, making it the longest single work of my career to date.

I still have much to do — a polishing draft before it goes to my editor, agent, and beta readers; line edits, revisions, and rewrites; and many more stages of production before it can get a publication date — but the first step is, after years of planning and many grueling months of writing, over.

Now … whiskey. And maybe some spontaneous hysteria. We’ll see what the rest of the night brings.