"My lord. We have them."

Would I be a true child of the 80s if I did not reference a movie? Especially that foundation of my morals and attitude, The Empire Strikes Back.

The last few days have been tricky, writing-wise. But then yesterday, returning to the office after a lunchtime errand, I heard a song and all became clear.

The main character's motivations sprang into focus as if I'd twisted a knob and revealed something that had been there all along, just impossible to see. The line that burns through the entire narrative from start to finish and ties it together: what he wants, what he fears, what he does. All of it.

From one song.

And in my rush of relief -- things like this seem to occur only after I've tormented myself, often on this very blog (and a heartfelt thank you to Laini and Rebecca for the goodwish comments on my last post) -- I realized I had captured the essence of the story. I had it! The image that came to mind was Admiral (or was he General at that point?) Piett when he finally spots the Millenium Falcon. He turns to Vader and says:

My lord. We have them.

What was the song, you ask?

Well, as they used to say in the Time-Life book advertisements, also from the 80s, "read the book!" Ho ho ho.

Okay, anyone who asks about it after reading the book will get the answer. I'll be curious to see if my vision matches what comes through in the story. But for now: back to work. I can see the end in the distance.