I had a number of good days writing on DANCE after my last post. It felt great to have a solid streak of work like that. It’s been a while, with all the stuff that has gone down this last year. I got quite a bit done, including a marriage. Some of it was rewriting, but the book will be much stronger for the changes I made.

Unfortunately, the last two days have been less productive, at least for DANCE. A major crisis erupted on another front, and I had to spend most of my time dealing with it. Wish I could say it was all settled, but no, it drags on, and becomes increasingly unpleasant. You know, there are times when I love writing and there are times when it’s agony… but it’s the business side of this profession that can really drive you mad.

Ah, well. Sorry to be so vague, but some things I’m not allowed to speak about.

On other fronts, I will be off to LA next week, for a spate of recording. Random House is doing an audiobook version of DREAMSONGS (aka the RRETROSPECTIVE), and they’ve asked me to read the interstitial bits, the autobiography and commentary. That will be a first for me, but I’m really looking forward to it. (Don’t worry, the actual stories will be read by real professional readers and actors. We’ll have several great voices, and yes, one of them will be Roy Dotrice, who was greatly missed on the audiobook of A FEAST FOR CROWS).

Before that, though, there’s the NFL Draft. Always one of my favorite weekends of the year. Unlike the actual season, my teams can’t actually lose in the draft (or if they do, you don’t realize it for three years), so you have less chance of crushing disappointment. The Giants pick 20th and the Jets 25th, so they won’t be getting any of the big marquee players, but I’m still hoping they will come away with some guys who can make a difference. I will probably post some thoughts and comments here after the Saturday selections, so those of you who like football should check back then… and those of you who don’t want to read anything but DANCE WITH DRAGONS news should stay away.

I was very sad to read on LOCUS OnLine that Meisha Merlin Press has closed its doors. I can’t say that I was surprised, given Meisha Merlin’s struggles over the past few years, but it is a loss for the field nonetheless. Stephen Pagel and his partner Kevin Murphy are great guys and did some really nice things with Meisha Merlin… but publishing is a perilous business at the best of times, and this is hardly that. Here’s hoping that Stephe and Kevin land on their feet, and that all the Meisha Merlin books find new homes.

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