Man, I kept meaning to do a quick entry all day long, but never got around to it. I just finished my first big-ass project at work, more or less -- a 100-page course about warranties (yeehaw, exciting stuff!), so I'm squeezing in this entry before I run off to meet the gang for beers and fish and chips at one of our many Irish pubs.

I'm down to 3 chapters left to revise on the Blackbeard novel. Nothing exciting to report, just pushing forward on it, getting up at 4:30 a.m. and working on it over my lunch break. I'm itching to get it done, but I also want to do it right. I'm quite pleased with the results.

Speaking of writing, fellow writer and all-around cool guy Nick Kaufmann has a cool journal and a short-story collection I need to buy (I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing a copy while I was at World Fantasy last year -- he sold all of 'em while he was there. And he has a great interview at Annabelle magazine where he talks about writing, writing horror, and horror writers wearing black (among other things). Smart guy, even if the photos show him using an electric typewriter in a graveyard -- everyone KNOWS you can't find an extension cord that long!

Here's one of my favorite tidbits -- his advice about how to write:

No shortcuts. You gotta put in the time and effort to learn the craft. Read a lot. Absorb out of what you read the things you like.

Yeah, buddy. That means making time to write, and for me especially, making time to READ. I'm such a slow reader, though I tend to read faster if I'm critiquing someone else's story or novel. I can't believe I'm only 200 pages in on the novel I've been reading for the past 2-3 weeks, Carter Beats the Devil.

And finally, totally unrelated to anything else, this morning I conquered the WALL! Later!