Whenever a vacation ends, it evokes the same feelings when attending funeral services for a distant relative does. Just like the departed, vacations always pass too quickly and I regret not knowing them better while I had the chance.

In all, a productive break from the day job–largely because of what I tossed to the curb. Shredded reams of old paperwork in the home office. Donated clothes that stopped fitting–or how I learned that light beer did not discourage blubber accumulation, only that it contained less calories than standard hops. Replaced a very scratched up bedroom set with new pieces from Furni. Also recycled some old electrical gear coalescing at the bottom of the closets. Basically got all the major distractions out of the way so I can write without interruption when at home.

Though mentioned before, July brought two traditional reviews for The Last Track, one in Mystery Scene Magazine ( #115 not yet on the stands, me thinks ) and another in the Midwest Book Review. There is a reason I’m bringing this up again, since it dovetails with the eternal lesson of publishing.

Both the publisher and Ellen had warned me about the lag time between publication and the bricks and mortar review coverage filtering back to base. Honestly, I didn’t quite believe them. I probably even said something like, “No way.” Even though the reviewers usually receive titles months before release, reviews appearing months or even a year after the launch is the norm–unless your last name is Flynn-Nolan, Patterson, King or Grisham. Surely they were kidding. Oh well, color me converted.

So like everything else in the writing process, usually getting what you want takes time, and the distance between you and that point is inversely proportional to your patience for said outcome.