Things are getting a little loose around here in terms of freedoms for my sons.  Independence, here it comes.  Part of that is their advancing age, but the other part is they are taking advantage of us, but also of the slower days.  We had an extra five days that we didn’t expect when family was ill and we didn’t travel.  We have squandered away the time in excellent fashion, and I have been glad of it.  It felt like Christmas Eve was on a weekend, and I’ve been having Thursdays and Fridays ever since.  Today must be Saturday.  Friday will be Monday and I’ll expect the boys to go back to school.  So there will be extra surprise days off.  It’s been a nice time.  

I imagine I will have less and less to say about Sweetsmoke as time goes on.  I am about to start the next book, about which I will be writing as little as possible (less than a handful of people know what the new project is, and I intend to keep it that way), and that will be my focus.  I am happy that the basic information (and history) will be here for those who are just discovering the novel – a slow process of discovery, about which I am only just learning — but the ongoing blog thing seems to be something that requires big loud opinions about politics or sex, not necessarily the small, untidy ramblings of a writer.  So I will continue to chat in my own way to friends and family and those who wish to tune in.  It’s rather nice to have a small place to just blather, and here I will continue to be.  By the way, what I meant about the slow process of discovery reading the novel is that many people who own the book have a pile of books to read, and pick and choose based on different criteria.  It takes time to read an entire book, and you have to feel ready to pick up this book or that.  Sometimes you just want a friendly little read, sometimes humorous, sometimes something with more meat and guts to it.  So people are now discovering it slowly, and hopefully word of mouth will spread.  In the movies, there are reviews on the day the movie comes to theaters and people go or they don’t go. 

And as I’ve always said, if people don’t want to read the book, no one’s going to stop them.  That is a bastardization of a Yogi Berra quote, thank you. 

I’m not sure why, but I posted a photograph here, and it is not coming up.  Hmm.  I’ll have to check that out and find out why.  I know it was working on my office computer.  If anyone visited earlier in the day and was curious as to why there was no post, now you know.  

It was, by the way, a photo of the novel at Book Passage, with the “Elaine’s Picks” sign in the foreground.  

We had planned a trip to Petaluma to visit cousins, going to drive today, hoping the Grapevine (Interstate 5) would be open with all the snow and storms hitting it, perhaps going up the 101 instead… I had dragged one of my sons through his head cold, was fighting off my own… and we would be there for my nephew’s birthday.  What a bummer to have your birthday the day after Christmas.  Damn.  I was even going to spend a couple of hours in Copperfield’s Bookstore in Petaluma signing books.  Seemed like the perfect thing to do, as people might be returning books and HARK! an actual author signing his book to you!  

But the phone call last night from my brother changed everything.  Three of his four children were busily vomiting, stomach flu.  And so we are here for the week.  Very disappointing for all.  

The only nice thing is, we have no plans.  I know we’ll squander this time, and maybe that’s a good thing.  But freedom arrives, and we’ll have to use in unwisely.  

Hope your Christmas was merry.  

Merry Christmas, everybody. 

Christmas Eve, ladies and gentlemen.  However you choose to celebrate the holiday, I wish you an excellent one.  I hope the trials of the year, as well as the trials of the day, fall lightly upon your shoulders. 

Check in with NORAD to see where Santa is! 

As my buddy Jeff said last night, “I knew we had it.”  It’s not that it matters, but it is nice to win, especially on Monday Night, when the Bears have historically been lousy.  It just, I don’t know, feels better.  Gee, why is that?  My yoga teacher Ben is probably cursing the FIBs right now (F-ing Illinois Bastards).  Sorry, Ben.  Bear down, willya? 

That wasn’t gloating, by the way.  That was just relief. 

I knew the ad was running today in the New York Times, but I had no idea it would be a full page, the back page, of The Arts section.  Wow.  It packs a wallop. 

Hey, if you’re reading this, all you folks over at Hyperion, thank you!  It is sensational. 

My son’s math teacher’s web site is called mathtrain.com and mathtrain.tv, and my son recommends that you visit them.  It has videos to help you with math stuff, all designed by kids, and it’s helped people around the world.