Hey all,

I wanted to give you an update on how things are going, but I'm too deep in the writing process right now to come up with some interesting big-picture insights or cool research findings, so I'll keep this one brief:

Writing is coming along well, though still some way from done. I've now written eight or nine chapters (out of 15-16 total) to completion or near-completion, and have a few more with a substantial chunk drafted. This is not where I'd hoped to be right now, but it's the way things go sometimes — books are complex beasts, and this is only my second one, so I'm not always able to be accurate with my estimates or scheduling.

I'm feeling pretty good about what I have written so far, though, and can sense that it's beginning to form into a cohesive whole. Writing narrative non-fiction is a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle, except that you're cutting/designing the pieces, drawing the picture, and assembling the puzzle all at the same time.

So anyway, I'm still plugging away at it. I've set a personal manuscript draft completion deadline for myself of March 5th, because that's my birthday (and because this manuscript is now holding back three other projects I have planned for this year), but it'll take as long as it takes — I won't rush it out just because I have other plans.

No matter what happens, though, I'll keep you in the loop. And I'll share more cool shareware stuff as soon as I'm back out of the writing trenches.