On the second day of my Christmas vacation...

IN THE NEWS: As you all probably know--or maybe you don't?--Gerald Ford, 38th President of the U.S., has died. But did you know he was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. and that while he was at University of Michigan he turned down offers to play football for the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers? (True Story)

Well, mentally and physically I'm still on Christmas vacation. Yes, I know I don't "technically" have a job-job, but I haven't written a word on my new manuscript nor have I cooked dinner for my family since Christmas Eve.

So there.

I have been doing a little reading though. And right now, I'm in the middle of Janet Evanovich's How I Write . Good book so far. She's making me think (I know I know--dangerous) and also is making me realize a few things--which I plan to change in the new year.

In her book, she establishes some rules for successful writing. These are only a few:

1) "Don't fall into the trap of rewriting chapter one until it's perfect." RATS. Okay, I promise I will let it go and move on to the next chapter. After just a few more touch-ups...

2) "Make writing a responsibility. Think of it like a job and show up on time." Ooops. Donald Trump would have fired my sorry butt about 5 months ago. But I'm still on vacation right now.

3) "Never hold anything back for the next book." DOUBLE RATS. I have a folder of choice lines and cool scenes I've been saving--and it's getting larger. Maybe I'll have some sort of cool book made out of all that. NOT.

Well, as you can see, Ms Evanovich blew me right out of the water and I hadn't even gotten to page one yet. But I'm still reading the book. After all, it's all a learning process.

Apparently, I have LOTS to learn.

What are you reading right now?