I almost can’t believe it’s been nearly a month and a half since I posted anything here. But, not a lot has happened. Despite my best efforts, school work comes home with me and eats up almost all my time. Having four sections of AP English means lots of writing assignments to grade. I haven’t written anything at all in two weeks. Rewriting The Fetch drags on and on and Nadia’s Children is stalled just before Shara and Chris reunite, both with new partners.

That’s about to change, though. You see, I got home from school yesterday to find this on my front porch:
	Inside the envelope that looks all wrinkled and yellowed like an old man’s face was this bundle from Bloomsbury. That top page was the first page of a 3-page letter from editor Michelle Nagler detailing change suggestions on Ghost Sickness. (Note how I’ve marked out the addresses? Carrie doesn’t want any stalkers. I might be okay with it, but the wife says no.)
Within that bundle were pages that look like this. (I know you can’t see it very well … and you’re not really supposed to.) See the writing in the margins? That’s what editors do. This is a first for me. The small press publishers I’ve worked with don’t do this, which means they must think I’m a genius, right? Hmm. It means something, I’m sure.

So, lots of work ahead. I see participation grades coming for my students. Actually, the timing isn’t bad, considering what I have planned for them at least this week. English IV is taking the final test of Beowulf, finishing the movie, then starting Macbeth (thank you, Shakespeare Appreciated for your brilliant audiobook!). My AP Literature class is reading The Old Man and the Sea while looking for Christ imagery; they’re also working on group projects and a major essay. AP Language … well, they’ll be picking apart an essay.

I did start a blog the other day, then killed it. It was kind of a tirade. I’m going to mention it in passing here because it still bothers me. A guy I considered a good friend recently “unfriended” me on Facebook after I made a political statement he disagreed with. This wasn’t just some random person I only know online. This is somebody I’ve shared a hotel room with and let my students interview over the phone. I’ve promoted his work and he’s promoted mine. I have one of his posters on the wall in my classroom. I was shocked and hurt by the unfriending. If I unfriended everyone who disagrees with me the Web would be a pretty lonely place. Anyway, the point here is that if you, too, feel you can’t be friends with someone who believes the federal government should have VERY limited involvement in our lives, you may want to leave now and never look back.