The Vices of the Writer

I'm not able to be the caffeine fiend that I used to be any more.

When I was in my twenties, man... I could drink coffee until 1 in the morning, scribbling away at something or rehearsing a show or two-- and then go home and drop right to sleep, waking up to be at work at 8am.  (Or earlier, with some jobs.)

Somewhere in the last ten years, that shifted.  Oh, I'll still keep the night owl hours when I can, and my writing brain definitely kicks in strongest around 11pm and will go until 1 or 2 if I let it.

But I can't drink coffee any more when I do that.  I really can't drink it after noon.  Which is a shame, because I miss that late-night caffeine buzz while pounding out words.

Beyond that, I don't really have much in terms of writerly vices.  I mean, I'm not much of a drinker.  I like a glass of wine with certain meals and relish a good scotch, but if I was told by a doctor that I couldn't have alcohol anymore I wouldn't have a big problem adjusting.  I don't smoke.

I am something of a foodie. Anyone who's read The Thorn of Dentonhill probably picked up on that. I tend not to eat junk food or fast food at all.  But if that same doctor told me I had to cut out red meat... ooh, that would hurt.

When it comes down to it, my biggest vice is letting myself go down some sort of research wiki-rabbit hole to figure out more about the development of, for a random example, domestication and agricultural uses of sorghum. Something which, more often than not, will have nothing to do with what I'm currently writing but might be implemented in a future project.

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In other news, The Thorn of Dentonhill has been named a finalist for the Compton Crook Award.  I'm ridiculously thrilled.

Also, I've added two more bookstore appearances in Texas.  On March 3rd at 7PM, I'll be at Malvern Books in Austin.  And on March 5th at 1PM, I'll be at Murder By The Book in Houston.  If you're in the area and available, come on over and say hello.