Well, I got through the holidays intact. This is always a bit of a dicey proposition because I do most of the cooking over the holidays and while I’m a rather good cook I am not one who is serene and philosophical and maintains his equanimity throughout the process. To the contrary. On those days when the cooking gets concentrated, my kitchen is filled for hours with expletives deleted.

Well, actually, not deleted. I daresay I am directly responsible for expanding the vocabulary of my grand-children, something my daughter is not entirely pleased with.

But, all’s well that ends well. Everyone got fed and seemed to enjoy the meals, and I made it through another holiday season without suffering a stroke or a heart attack and with no more than a modicum of flesh wounds—and those, quickly healed.

So, back to work, which is far more relaxing. I almost never curse in front of computer. Well. Okay. Except when it screws up, which is fairly often. I have told my tech guru Rick Boatright many times that electrons just hate me, for no discernible reason. For years, Rick dismissed that theory as patent nonsense, but I think that lately he’s been reconsidering. He tells me that things go wrong with my computers that he’s never seen happen to anyone else.

(I knew it! I knew it! The little bastards have it in for me!)

Mike Resnick and I are closing in on finishing “The Gods of Sagittarius.” We’d hoped to have it done by the end of the year, but between the disruption of the (miserable damned) holidays and various other problems, it’s taking longer than we’d projected.

(If you’re wondering—ask any publisher or editor—this is not an abnormal state of affairs with authors. For whatever neurological reason, the mental talent involved in being a good scribbler seems to be genetically linked with a tendency to be wildly over-optimistic about work schedules.)

I’ve also done quite a bit of work over the past few weeks with my co-author Jerry Ackerman on our urban fantasy/police procedural, Iron Angels. That novel is shaping up very nicely, I think. Jerry has now started work on the third draft.

Finally, in other news of the day, our cat used the presence of an unusual number of feet passing by over the holidays to work on her ambushing skills. She’s getting quite good at it. I’m beginning to pity any mice who seek shelter from the cold in our house this winter. Usually I have to set out traps in January. But this year… maybe not. We’ll see.