One of the things I’ve learned in the past couple years is that being a full time writer is less romantic than I would have thought. That’s something you hear a lot from writers – I always assumed they were just being cool – but it’s true. I can count on one hand the hours I’ve sat in a dark cafe and scribbled in a leather-bound notebook with a bottle of whiskey at my side. The ugly truth is that I wake up at five in the morning with ideas for a line or two in my head. I know it will be a waste of time to try to go back to sleep, and I know that if I don’t write them down immediately they’ll be lost forever. So I drag myself out of bed and stumble into the office. Four hours and a couple hundred words later (if I’m lucky) I realize I haven’t eaten or had coffee. So I drag myself into the kitchen in a low-blood-sugar stupor, pour a bowl of whatever cereal is left, make some coffee, and take it all back to my desk, where I sit for another four hours or so until my eyes feel like two hollow holes and my back is sending hate messages to the rest of my body.
Now, it’s one or two in the afternoon. The coffee buzz has abated. I find myself in boxers, unshaven. The dog is morose. There’s nothing for lunch except cereal. Bills are piling up. Emails are unanswered. And blogs are ignored… this is all a roundabout way of saying, “Hi Blog, sorry it’s been so long. What’s up?”
Blaize and John Clement 
Are you working on a Dixie Hemmingway novel, John. I have really missed reading about Dixie.Take care!
Hi Carolyn – YES! If you haven’t seen it already, THE CAT SITTER’S CRADLE is out now, and this July, THE CAT SITTER’S NINE LIVES comes out (the ninth book in the series). And I’m busily working on the tenth as we speak. Or, I should say, I’m HAPPILY working on the tenth as we speak. I just read my post above and I sound like such a whiny downer. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I feel so blessed and lucky to be carrying on my mom’s books!
Reblogged this on Hey Sweetheart, Get Me Rewrite! and commented:
Amen Brother
🙂
I love your books – keep em coming!
Thanks Ben
But think of all the people that wait and wait and wait for your words……I love the books.And…I read them over and over.
I know! I am blessed to have the opportunity to share all these stories! And yet I’m still able to whine… 🙂
The cat sitters cradle was so good. I had a bet with my mom about who was guilty and I lost! You totally fooled me! Kudos! And I say thanks for continuing this work.
Oh no! Man can not live on coffee and cereal alone!
Thanks Betty – and thanks for reading!
Actually, Jan makes a good point. A ready supply of quick, healthy food and drink might be a good idea . . . not that we don’t appreciate the willingness to sacrifice for our reading pleasure, but for long-term goals, starving the writer might not be the best idea. ❤
I know. It’s my own fault… I lack the “planning ahead” gene.
Maybe a near-by restaurant or coffee shop could deliver sustenance.
Oh John, your poor depressed dog. They aren’t happy unless they are playing, eating, or getting attention from their people. Unlike cats who will be perfectly content being left alone to sleep away the day, half of the day anyway. I don’t think I would like sitting in front of a computer all day. I have so many blog ideas but don’t follow through because I think my bottom would hurt sitting there all day, lol!
I have already pre-ordered The Cats Sitter’s Nine Lives…I can’t wait till July!
She’s been very patient with me… but truth be told, with the winter we had, she was more than happy to snuggle up in her bed under my desk — there’s a heater vent under there. She’s a Florida girl at heart.