April 21, 2005
Yesterday was busy, and I didn't get to work on the new novel because I had two surprise interviews--desperately needed--and I wrote straight until 6:30 to finish a draft of the article on HPV and cervical cancer that was due today. So today once I really got going at 9:00 the first task was to finish off that article and send it off. It was published by 1:00, which is one of the miracles of online publishing and the Internet. I got an e-mail slightly before 11:00 from my editor with an attachment with the edits using tracking changes, telling me the article was great, good work, we're processing your invoice, here's your edits. I approved them, shut down, ran errands, had lunch, walked the dog, then checked their website and there it was.

I promised myself I'd spend some time working on the novel--sort of a treat--and I've written drafts of the first two chapters. (Hey, it's a thriller, they're only two pages long!) I'm interviewing the PR person at The Broadmoor tomorrow, which is the site of the novel and I put in a call to the Colorado National Guard to answer some questions. Plus I was online a bit and studying maps and looking at photos. Much more research intensive than usual, but hopefully it'll have a good result. I just hope I'm not using the research as an excuse not to actually write.

I've still got the podiatry marketing article to finish--that's next. And I've got this hepatitis article hanging. Clearly the state's PR guy is going to ignore me, so I'll either nag them or check out some national person. It would be nice to wrap that article tomorrow. And of course, the CMS Medicare article that's been such a pain in the sacral nerves. And I see from my to-do list that the Journal beckons.

Plus there's always marketing. Did send out 2 queries today, though one's probably not likely to pan out.

Ah well, sometimes work is work and sometimes it's not.

Best,
Mark Terry