By the way, if you are following the thread here, please drop me a quick message or leave a comment below to let me know. So often I feel like the proverbial tree falling in the woods -- I don;t know if I make any sound because I have no idea if anyone is around to hear. Look under the Author Contact header and just pop in a little message -- pretty please. I promise I won't share your email address or spam you. I just need to know if I'm wasting electrons. :-)
Good news -- I was able to reconnect with the Meridian chapter of the Mississippi Writers Guild this past Saturday. I'd been unable to make the meetings for a while. Hopefully that will change now, and I can get back to surrounding myself with other writers. If I begin to feel like a writer again, perhaps I'll actually write.
Bad news -- I briefly considered retiring from teaching at the end of this year, but I decided at the very last minute to sign my contract and hang on for awhile longer. With my daughter in college now, I couldn't quite figure out a way to tap enough retirement funds to keep a decent cash flow. When I do finally leave the classroom, I fully intend to put my full energies into writing science fiction. But for right now, my students still need me. And I need them -- to remind me I still have something to give. So, maybe this is good news after all.