Back to Work, Again

I've just finished up a fun whirlwind tour of the Raleigh-Durham area, which included three talks and lots of meetings with scientists and fellow science bloggers. Abel Pharmboy was my thoughtful and accommodating host, and as far as science bloggers go, I also got to meet Coturnix of A Blog Aound the Clock and Dave Munger of Cognitive Daily.

They have posts on my events, too. See here for Abel's banging the gong to announce everything, here for Coturnix's reaction to my first bookstore talk (and our after-hours drinking experiences), and here for Dave Munger's reaction to my second one. I'm glad to have provided so much food through my speeches, and I appreciate the serious reactions to my material. We also had a lot of fun hanging out for beers before and after these events--so much, in fact, that I temporarily forgot that I'm supposed to be crunching on the book!

As far as forgetting goes, these upcoming events will also help distract me:

Wednesday, November 1

4:30 PM-5:45 PM

St. Mary's College of Maryland

Schaefer Hall, Room 106

18952 E. Fisher Rd

St. Mary's, MD

Tuesday, November 7

8:00-9:00 PM

BOOKS & BOOKS

265 Aragon Ave

Coral Gables, FL 33134

Thursday, November 9
7:30- 9:00 am

The Westin Grand Bohemian

for Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando

Tickets available at www.ppgo.org

Luckily, I got a massive amount done on the hurricane book last week after sequestering myself in Flagstaff, Arizona. During the same trip, I managed to reach a critical mental threshhold in relation to the current project.

I haven't finished researching, interviewing, or writing yet for this book--not even close. There are still months of work ahead. Nevertheless, in my solitude in Flagstaff a lot of things started to come into focus.

Many writers, after a first book, write an easily identifiable sequel--and who can blame them. I think, though, that I may wind up taking a fairly different, less predictable approach. And that's all I'll say for now....