Spooky ghost window of the house I visited last week.

Thought 1: Not to get all Scalzi on you, but I am actually here, alive and kicking, just with little to report. The personal writing seems to be going well, but I’m realizing that the two projects I’ve chosen to do next require some intense research. To prevent myself from freaking out completely, I’m telling myself that a) I tend to over-research and need to stop that right now, b) I can get by reading just a few nonfiction books, and c) those few books do not have to be read in their entirety since I’ll be going forth and immediately fictionalizing the hell out of those worlds anyway. All easy to say, hard to do. I’m also falling behind on the fun novels and stories I’ve been wanting to read for months. So be it.

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Thought 2: You wanna laugh? Here’s a glimpse into the trad pub world, via my ghostwriting window. (See above.) I’ve been working for a year on a book that was slated to be pubbed late July 30. Understand that typically once that date is set, everything in the trad publisher’s world with respect to that book revolves around that date. That date is golden. Yes, they’ll tell you, we can change the date but you don’t want us to because it confuses retailers and contradicts what we put in the catalog, and so on.

So late Friday comes news from the publisher that they’re accelerating the pub date for this book. It’ll be in stores early June now, not late July. Virtually a two-month acceleration. Why? Because they just heard that the buyer for a large retail chain wants the books for sale on Father’s Day. Very strong father component in this book, they think. Which is actually freaking true.

Two questions: Why didn’t the the rest of us—myself included—figure that out a year ago when we started having endless conference calls about the book? And why is it suddenly so easy to pub a book early? I heard it took months, and every single month was precious, once set in stone. Why is another major memoir that my wife is ghosting going from final edit to press in two weeks?! (I know, that’s three questions; sue me.) Gee, I guess these guys can really get a book out when they put their minds to it.

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Thought 3: Why is it that as soon as I got my sweet new standing desk apparatus all tricked out in the office do I suddenly develop a need to do all my work from the couch in the living room? Seriously, all my junk’s piled on the coffee table. And I show no sign of leaving. I’m camped out here, now. I’m staying. To hell with my health.

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Thought 4: Finally took down the Christmas tree. Good. More room for me.