I know, I know . . .

I need to do more than just post chapters of Prodigal Prince. No excuses. Explanations? Well, maybe.

• New Story. I've been working on a new Foxe short story. It's coming together, and I'll probably post it sometime this week. The thing with stories about Foxe is I'm not sure how meaningful they are if you don't know who Foxe is from the start, which (I suspect) makes them difficult to get published elsewhere. David Drake can send a Hammer's Slammers story (interstellar mercenaries, and a GREAT series, really, go out and read it now) to a top magazine and everyone will know what he's talking about. But so far only a handful of my loyal readers will really understand who Foxe is in the universe I'm trying to build for him. So the shorter stories about him are exercises—and also ideas I can't let go of. After "Mind Games," I've got only a few that I'm really happy with, although the upcoming one, "Meat," seems to hold some promise. And an earlier one, "Stay Angry," still feels good to me.

• Internet issues. AT&T "upgraded" my Internet connection to a Uverse system. I spent a few days freaking out about having to install a new modem, and although I was able to set it up and get it sort of working, it still sometimes goes in and out, particularly when I'm watching videos on Netflix. Sure, I can still get work done, and most of the time the Internet connection is fine, so I'm mostly just griping. But still. Hard to concentrate when you're wondering about when and if your broadband is going down.

• The government. Boy, it was hard to concentrate while wondering whether we were going to head into financial apocalypse.

• Stuff. Okay, sometimes I'm just lazy. That's probably the main reason. I do enjoy my job and the people at my office (and the fact that I can work at home whenever necessary), but it still consumes a certain amount of time and energy, and then there's taking care of stuff at home, trying to watch the occasional episode of Dr. Who, and getting up to do it all again after I've stayed up too late reading in bed. (Right now I hope to finish Peter Hamilton's new book, Great North Road, in the next night or two. Hamilton writes these incredibly lengthy SF novels, maybe longer than they need to be, but for fantastic, world-spinning science fiction/space opera, he's worth every page. Go set aside a few months to read his Void trilogy. Get them all at once, because you won't want to stop at the end of each book.)

• I think that's it. Coming attractions: I'm keeping a list of every book I've read this year, and in 2014 I'll post it, along with my ratings, and maybe some reviews.

• Bullet points. I love'em.

In the meantime, I am posting the latest chapter of Prodigal Prince. Right about . . . Now.