It just occurred to me, as I look up from what feels like the one hundredth rewrite of the last paragraph, that it’s been a while since my last entry. Along with all the rewriting I‘ve been doing, as the Chinese saying (or curse) goes, my life of late has been quite “interesting” (which partially explains at least one month of my delay in getting this thing finished). I really had planned to be finished by late May, but as July comes up around the corner, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be happening. I’m also still trying to decide what the focus of this blog should be. I’m pretty sure most people don’t want to hear about the writing process, and how difficult and lonely it can sometimes be--that’s just depressing (and not entirely true, because I find that when I sometimes get into a “Matrix”-like groove--where everything that needs corrected or rewritten just leaps out at me-- I can write for several hours and barely notice that any time has passed).
     Maybe every once in a while I’ll toss out my two cents about the writing life, but for now, with a Presidential election coming up (which is one of the focus’s of the novel), and all the shenanigans, mudslinging, and negative advertisements coming up, that seems like about as good a subject as any to occasionally comment upon. That, along with another aspect of the book, which is also fairly relevant-- the slow drawn-out death of traditional news reporting, much to the detriment of our country and our democracy. The Fourth Estate was once one of the unwritten “checks and balances“ of government, but both "sides" now seem to have gotten so partisan, that half of what they report can probably be tossed aside (the unnerving question, though, is, which half?). Then perhaps almost as unsettling--the alarmingly heavy reliance on info-tainment. But then it seems if certain news organizations don’t adapt in the changing news landscape (going partisan or into the quasi-entertainment business with their news) they either go completely under, or flounder until they eventually adapt or die. It really is actually pretty scary. Would, of course, be curious to hear your thoughts as well?   Until next time.   Jack