I owe a publisher a book. The second draft is due Monday.

It's not high art, it's not my magnum opus, it's not what I usually write or have published in the past, but it's a fun story and I've been enjoying working on it. And I think it has some good things to say. And it's a challenge to write, and write well, and right.

It's not likely to make me much money, but it's not about money. If it were about money, I wouldn't be writing fiction. I'm learning a lot while writing this book, and more importantly I will learn a great deal about marketing and promotion in the process. I have admired and respected this publisher for a long time. They are one of the savviest small presses out there, and are becoming more and more successful all the time. This is the most valuable thing for me right now.

Publishing needs to reinvent itself. This is one of the publishers that I believe is showing the way.

I am so lucky to have the opportunity to learn from them.

And I can't tell you how good it feels to actually be writing fiction with a real purpose. It hasn't felt like this for a long time.

I'm excited. I haven't been talking about this widely because nothing is signed, they could change their mind, I could utterly fail at this, so many ifs... But few people read this blog anymore, it's more anonymous than my other online hangouts. And those of you who will read this have followed me for a long time, and I know you'll understand.