Mmmkay, got some drafting done early this morning, at lunch, and one last pass just now at the end of a nice day working from home with the windows open, the wireless running, and Lizzie and Drew hanging out. Not a bad way to end the week.

And I hit my goal of 300 pages -- only 20 pages to go!

75,000 / 80,000 (93.8%)

And just because I don't want to bore y'all with the numbers once again (too late, right?), here's a snippet from the opening of the penultimate chapter:

Melissa couldn't quite remember at which point this little party of hers got itself completely unhinged. It could have been when Billie elbowed Smoot in the gut for calling her Butch one time too many while they were wandering through the whispering trees of the forest. Maybe it was when Julio melted that metal door that refused to open, back in the cave filled with red early-evening light. It was possible everything went to hell when they found the rows of underground houses sitting back on their lawns of dust, protected by the high concrete curbs.

Or it could've been just a few seconds ago, when the light of the ball in Julio's hand suddenly winked out with a pop and a whiff of rotten eggs.

Have a groovy weekend! Later.