This is the writing part of being a writer.

Today and yesterday I worked on a short story that’s due to be in a Mystery Writers of America anthology sometime next year.  The deadline is today.  It will be arriving today, as long as the editor isn’t in some Time Zone other than East Coast and providing having it there before midnight will still qualify as today!!  It’s a cold war spy story.  And people who have read Judgment Call will recognize a few familiar characters.

Next I have to do the blog.  Which, in case you haven’t noticed, I am doing.

Next I have to do the revisions on After the Fire.  My book of poetry is going to be picked up by HarperCollins, but before I put it back in print, I want to rework some of the essays that accompany the poems.  Oh, and there’s one small hitch in my revision get-along.  I no longer have a copy on disc.  That means it has to be typed into the computer.  Fortunately I’m a fast typist.

Next the galleys for Second Watch should be landing on my doorstep.

And then I need to get back to Ali # 9, Tagged for Death, a book that stalled out about the time I left on tour for Deadly Stakes.

So you want me to be witty in this blog post?  Too bad.  But the good news is, I’m in Tucson.  It is sunny outside.  There is no construction going on anywhere in the house.  Bella is curled up in the red leather chair right next to mine.  She and the chair match, making her more or less invisible.

So I’m happy.  It’s 4:07 PM.  I guess I’ll go get dressed.

And for those of you who aren’t writers?  Getting dressed at four o’clock in the afternoon means it’s been a good day in the writing business.  The words have been flowing.

After all, why get dressed when you can write?