Just like a tattoo.

When I moved back to L.A. three years ago, I made three compilation CDs to keep me awake through the 16-hour drive. In a rush of originality, I labeled these discs Driving Disc #1, Driving Disc #2, and Driving Disc #3.

Since then, I've bought a lot more music, which has led me to make four more driving discs. (OK, I've made five, but one was produced in the throes of pregnancy-related hormone fits, and was so utterly unlistenable I tossed the disc and tried vanquishing it from memory. Shh.) I won't tell you how they're labeled, but I'm sure you'll put that puzzle together all by yourself.

This morning, I made it to the end of the fifth disc. The first strains of Jordin Sparks's "Tattoo" filled my car and--I hate to admit this--I got goosebumps.

Also from the hate-to-admit it files? I probably listened to that song a couple hundred times while I was editing The Monster's Daughter.

Listening to the song this morning, I was overwhelmed by elation. Since I last listened to it, I moved from halfheartedly editing to actually releasing the book. Sure, there's still a little work being done behind the scenes, but mostly? I did it. That satisfaction, one I couldn't feel when I listened to "Tattoo" ceaselessly before, is one I'll surely wear on my heart like a tattoo for years to come.

Heh. I know, I know. Cheesy, right? But no matter how cheesy it may be, the heart of The Monster's Daughter is captured in these lyrics:
Don't look back, got a new direction
Loved you once, needed protection
You're still a part of everything I do
You're on my heart just like a tattoo
Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you