Home at last

Actually, we got home about 3 a.m. Saturday after I decided to drive straight through from Williamsburg, Va. Yes, that's right. Seventeen hours. A new personal best.

Needless to say, we were exhausted for most of the weekend. Today, I drove another six hours to take Brennan to his grandparents' in suburban Chicago for a week of "Camp Gramp."

Nothing much to say, other than I'm glad to be home. We had a great vacation, but I'm looking forward to getting back to writing on a daily basis. This week, I'm back to querying and blogging and planning the new novel. It'll be nice to get back to work after almost three months off.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the final few days of summer. We shall talk again soon.

Is my blog dying?

I hope not. I decided to take some much-needed time this summer to spend with the wife and kids, since I've spent the past three-and-a-half years with my butt in this seat and my eyes glued to this computer screen.

My writing had pretty much taken over my life. And then I created this blog last November and discovered blogging and all the cool writer friends online. I had finished my first novel and was in the midst of several revisions, so I had more time than usual to blog and comment and do all those cool things that, in the end, eat up tons of time.

Time I used to spend writing. Or with my family. I've been trying to rectify that last one the past few weeks, and it's been greatly rewarding. But I worry that it's come at the expense of my blog friends.

I greatly value you guys, so it's been tough seeing some you go away. I've started to lose followers and that saddens me. And now I see many of my blog friends are taking time off, too.

I really hope we all reconnect this fall. Even though I plan to start back on the new book in earnest the minute the kid goes back to school, I would hate to think of going back to writing in a vacuum, without the input and friendships I've grown accustomed to over the past few months.

I read recently that the average lifespan of a blog is about six months. I really don't think I'm ready to throw in the towel yet. Are you?

So I hope you guys come back and we can get back to the give-and-take that I find so vital to my writing career. I really hope we're all just a little lazy and enjoying the nice weather and our families -- and not breaking off our friendships.

In other words, the answer to my question above is -- no. This blog is going nowhere. So, who's with me?