I'm in such a weird place these days, for so many reasons I've already articulated. But it doesn't make it any less weird.

The country's a mess, and the corruption is so up-front and pervasive as to be staggering, almost surreal.

My life/work/job situation still hasn't improved. I had my 14th final round fail (I was *one* 30-minute meeting away from landing this latest job, only to be scuttled by one of the key players in the penultimate meeting).

So, that hasn't helped with my spirits. I need to get back to my writing, although I do so with a feeling/understanding about just how FUBAR the publishing world is.

More stories emerge about how few people actually read anymore, and it still staggers me. Reading is fun. It's meditative. People are just glowing and flowing. While there'll always be a niche audience for reading (I think), it's moved out of the mainstream, by and large. It's like boxing or jazz -- still out there, but not as strongly placed as before.

For those of us who're writers/authors, whether indie or trad, it's a daunting landscape.

As I've written before, I'll work through my open-ended stuff out of a sense of obligation to the characters and the series of books TBD, but it's also with a wistful vibe, a forlorn sense of futility.

I'll never abandon books; I love them too much to ever do that. However, it feels like most people will.