You do work, don't you?

Mes Amis

Someone (you know who you are!) wrote to me the other day and asked whether I was really writing at the moment. "After all," they say, "It seems like the last thing you actually got accepted was that story in AHMM. That was, what, last year?"

Point taken, ya know (Although that story should be out this year!). But I have a good excuse. One is that I haven't been lazy. I have been writing like a beast. I have been working on a number of projects. Some of these cannot be mentioned because I have done them somewhat annonymously under other names. I have also been working like a beast on *the novel that wasn't quite ready* and more recently *the one that will sell* (which must always be said optimistically). Also while I was working on the last novel, a kibosh was put on Sam Bryson short stories so I wasn't really subbing them that much for a while. Now, of course, that we're taking him out of the novel length works I may try and get a few of those shorts back out to find a home.

As to *the one that will sell*, I am 40,000 deep into the first draft. That's not bad going. And yeah, it makes sense, too. My plan is to try and get the first draft done before B'Con, come back and redraft the bugger before letting my group of highly trained, specially picked test-readers take a peek and then send it off to Lovely Emma the Editor (after another redraft for all the stuff the test-readers pick up on). If I don't get it right this time, she'll sacrifice me to the Literary Gods. The research on this one is fun, actually, and some very nice people who know about death and decomposition as well as the psychology of suicide are helping me on some technical details.

I am also still philosophising* and, ya know, that takes up some time. Still waiting for word back on whether I have funding to do a PhD, but ya know that's looking more and more unlikely. Who'd'a thunk this writing biz was more stable than an academic career?

And then there's CSS. I *know* we're behind on subs and to anyone who has sent us one we're getting round to them. Its mostly me holding things up so I apologise.

I'm also designing a database for some philosophists and trying to read a lot of books. So, yeah, I am working. Honest.

And washing the dirt out of my fur from digging all those tunnels**.

Au revoir

Russel

*No, Gary, there is no such word as "philosophist" but I reckon if I start using it will catch on. You need to do something to make academia more fun...

**Damn that Mr MacBride; I'm starting to believe I really am a badger now.