Thanks for all the good wishes. Before rushing out Friday I hastily sent off several sloppily imprecise and misleading posts and emails. Maybe we should have a label to append to communications composed prior to Rushing Out .

ROT?

At any rate, I didn't mean to sound quite so alarming as I did when I referred to my "deteriorating work situation." What I meant was that during the past few years I've faced the same problem every working person faces in that more and more is demanded for the same pay.

After all, when Widget International downsizes half its labor force it doesn't start making less widgets. The legal editors I work with are, if anything, even more overwhelmed than I am and, working inhouse, they are directly under the gun, which I'm not.

Over the years, though, this trend has meant more and more time devoted to making a living and therefore less and less time for writing fiction.

When Mary and I began writing books we contrived to live so frugally that we could put aside long stretches just for fiction. We were very fortunate to be able to arrange our schedule thanks to our doing contract work. Alas, this is no longer the case and so I'm faced with trying to adjust my writing habits if we are to continue with the books, not an easy thing, at least for me.

Cripes...if I don't watch out I'm going to end up with an actual journal here instead of an essay collection.