Okay, so what have I been up to lately? Usually, if I go a couple days without an entry here, it's because I'm slammed at work or sick or busy with the kiddoes or -- most likely -- I'm just not doing any writing and don't want anyone to know about it.

So, I guess you could say that it's all of the above for my recent lack of content here (though work hasn't been THAT busy -- I'm actually getting into a good rhythm there, and need to get back to it once my "lunch break" is over and this entry is finished).

The good news is that I'm reading more -- just finished a great satire of the day job/office world, a novel with the awesome title of Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes. I burned through this one, loving his humor and his use of old SF and horror tropes in new ways, and especially loved his phrasings and word choices. I've already lent the book out to my co-worker, since the protagonist of the book is a technical writer, just like us.

And I got to read a good chunk of the middle of that book in the emergency room last Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Mr. Mitch was having some breathing issues due to the nasty cold he and his big brother have been hit with (for almost three weeks now for Drew), and we were worried he was going to start wheezing for air soon. So we dropped Drew off with his Mimi and Pop-pop and headed to WakeMed for the night. Luckily, the docs didn't need to do anything for him -- after we'd been there 3-4 hours, his fever had dropped a bit and his breathing remained fine, if a little rattly now and then.

So, disaster averted. At some point we'll get both kids healthy again, so Mom and Dad can get a good night's sleep. Maybe in 2009?

So yeah, not a lot of writing getting done on the new novel. I'm starting to think about it again, which is good, trying to figure out how to fix chapter five (I got a couple good ideas from the excellent Hynes novel!). And I'm hoping to start reading Sean Stewart's Mockingbird next, as I slowly work my way through my To Read pile.

To keep me motivated, I set up the nifty Good Reads widget there to the left -- it lists the 20 books that I hope to read this year. There are more books in my To Read pile, but I figure two novels a month is a good pace. And I'm always inspired to write while I'm reading a great book.

So wish me luck, and wish some good health and clear lungs to our little critters! Later!