The final short story is done and went off to the editor last evening, with 2 whole days to spare before the deadline.

I say "final" short story -- for those rare few among you who are not terrifically loyal readers of this lofty blog -- because I have no more time left in my writing schedule for the next several years to fit in any more short stories. It was kind of neat, to be writing it while knowing it was likely the final one. And it's been exactly 20 years now since the first short story of mine was published. I don't want to go so far as to hold the 2 stories side by side and compare them craft or skill-wise. (Ack!!) But it was just kind of neat to know.

Meanwhile, the next deadline looms large. I need to have the current novel done (yes -- the Rudolph Valentino one that I've been working on for nearly a year now, thank you very much for pointing that out) (and, no, that's not including the 8 years of research that came before I finally sat down to write it last March or April or whenever that was). Anyway, I need to have it done by March 17th, St. Paddy's Day. I still have, like, 300 more pages to go, so the gods and the muse had better be with me on this one. And ever since the kidney problem a couple weeks ago, I haven't been able to tolerate coffee. Honestly, can you imagine banging out 300 more pages without the benefit of coffee? I can, actually -- but then, I'm the writer here; I'm the one with the highly overactive imagination!

Okay, then. I gotta get crackin' around here. Thanks for visiting, gang. See ya on St. Paddy's Day! (just kidding...)