It always happens every year around the holidays-- too much stuff gets scheduled and not enough actually gets done. I have _some_ excuses-- a very large check from my previous employer has been delayed many weeks past when promised, and some remodeling work on my house ran hugely over schedule. I was also too sick to function in any meaningful way for about three days. But... Facts are facts. I'm behind on everything.

Or, _almost_ everything. The one thing I swore I'd keep up on and not let go to pot is writing. I said I'd treat it as I had my old job, and almost sixty days into retirement I can say with pride that I've done exactly that. Both the improved "Book of Lapism" and a standalone copy of "Cheetah's Win", an old novella of mine that I'm very proud of, are now rewritten and launched, probably to hit the shelves in 2015. While progress on the "Byrd" series is slow, it's stable and I peck away at it every single day.

I somehow always felt that the first sixty days of retirement might be the hardest, and I see signs that maybe this was true. Mostly I think I need to move around more, so after the holidays I plan to join a health club. If I can keep up with that as well as I have writing-- and I have reason to believe I can-- then the future is bright indeed for me.

Thank you, my readers! Your steady support is what's given me the courage to try writing as a full-time profession!