So I've been beating up Busted, and I've been finding (as so many people do) that making it good takes a whole lot more work than just making it exist. I'd planned on having it done and shopping it around by the end of the year, assuming my HR department was OK with it. I'm not sure if that's going to happen now, unfortunately. It may, given that it's not yet Halloween, but I'm not holding my breath.

Still, the work going into the rewrite is definitely worth it. Even if the book ultimately goes nowhere, the thought needed to get the damn thing in shape means that the next one, and there will be a next one, will be easier. Or conceptually larger. Not sure which, I have a tendency to over-reach my current skills, so it's even odds which way it goes.

Courtesy of my tendency to get captivated by the oddest things (in this case the phrase "combat mathematician") there'll be another Ben and William short in a few weeks. Not time wasted, they're always fun for a romp and a good twist on old standards.

(And if I've repeated myself, well... I blame it on switching blog clients and laziness, as those're always good excuses... )