Got back some time ago… just didn’t blog. Alaska was a great trip, but it took some recovery time. Spending some time back in Texas for a while was good, but it was great to get back in the office. I really missed it. Is that a sickness or something?
Over the summer, I did manage to get some work done on the book that I’m writing for Fortress Press, Honor Among Christians. I have a deadline of December 1. What I’m really doing is turning my dissertation into a work that people actually might like to read (at least, a few people). Dissertations generally do not make enjoyable reading. They are written for a committee of scholars who may or may not be on the same wavelength with one another. The intent of the dissertation is to show that the writer has explored the topic in exhaustive detail, formed an exhaustingly tight thesis, and argued for that thesis with exhaustive and exhausting clarity. Really, dissertations are very tiring.
Revising is not easy work. Revising often means rewriting. And my experience is that the revision process is one in which every so often I say to myself, “Self, did I really write that?”
So, if you’re reading this blog, what I want you to know is that I am currently in the process of developing a book so very interesting that no one will be able to resist buying, reading it from cover to cover, and buying copies for all of his or her friends.