Never Rains but It Pours ...

The last year has been fairly lean, workwise. Not dead -- I did have a novel come out in September -- but the recession hit the book-biz, too. So I was trying to get a fish on the line and hoping my bait was okay. In such times, you just keep casting and hoping for a bite ...

Then, all of a sudden, fish are leaping into the boat ...

Enough torturing of that metaphor.

Most of what's going on I can't talk about, but it's always interesting to go from slack to taut. Phone rings, and it's somebody who needs something in a hurry. Hey, got you covered -- and before you can flex your hands and crank, another call from somebody else: Here's a new project, you interested?

Plus some of the already-in-progress stuff I have needs to be wrapped up. Even though the book biz, like the movie biz (and like a lot of other things) tends to pretty much shut down between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, my self-imposed deadline on the current novel decrees that I get it done and to my agent before Christmas. (Missing your own deadlines isn't so bad -- nobody's tapping their foot and looking at their watch. Missing contractural delivery dates is a no-no. I've always been of the mind that if I couldn't write it great, at least I could get it in on time. There are projects wherein fast and okay are better than slow and terrific.)

I really will let you know what is going on, soon as I have leave to do so. I can say that the draft for Bristlecone is almost done, and that if a couple other projects come to fruition, the coming year will be more prosperous than the previous one.

One can hope.