Home, now, from New York and Pennsylvania. I was away for a week, and at the beginning of that time and even in the middle of it, it seemed like I wouldn’t be seeing my boy for such a long time. And then I was back home and it seemed as if I had never left.

The ASJA conference was great–such good panels with wonderful speakers. I met Andrea, the editor of Pen on Fire and she was just wonderful. Others, too, that I’ve only had contact with online or on the phone or via email–great to put a face to those people.

I want to respond to a comment Jordan made on a previous blog. He said, “I admit to being a snob, but having done so, where is your ‘writer’s mind’ now that your book is in the stores. A book, it seems to me, is permanent. Magazine and newspaper articles are transient things. Do you have any thoughts on this?”

I do have thoughts on this, Jordan.

Some people are book people, others seem to be more into magazines. While I subscribe to, and read, magazines, I’m definitely a book person. And every day I’m grateful that I have added my own book to the book population of the world.

That said, books can take a very long time to write. Writing a magazine article–or an essay or a story or a poem–and getting it published is much more of a short-term venture. I like seeing my work in print and when you do shorter works, you get that more immediate gratification of sending your work out and seeing it in print and knowing others will see it in print, too. And it’s always fun to deposit checks in your credit union account, too.

For an author, there’s one more benefit to publishing magazine articles: You can usually mention your book in your bio at the end of the article, which will hopefully garner more book sales for you–always a good thing. Promoting your book is ongoing, much as I’m sure you hate hearing the “P” work, Jordan.