This is the nonfiction story of one man's quest to publish a fiction novel:

Feeling lost? Scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "Blog Archive" to read this tale of woe from the beginning. If you're all caught up, please enjoy the latest exciting installment...

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Do you sense any of a George Bush "Mission Accomplished" attitude here?

I feel like every post I step up to the podium and talk tough about how "this is the time" and "now it's gonna happen," but in actuality I focus on my job and then lay around with my wife, watching television.  That Writer's Market she gave me sits uncracked, because none of my novels are passed draft one.  I haven't even taken the time to go back and try to "perfect" them -- I just keep writing new ones, and as I do that, my old ones become less and less relevant.  And none of them become worthy of sending to agents.

And then I randomly pop on this blog, spout off what would be cheesy clichés in a sports movie, and the whole process repeats.

I've been becoming more of a slacker.  I've written, what, four books since beginning this blog, in addition to getting married, getting promoted, getting promoted again, and buying a new house. I used to have Herculean Nicholas Sparks energy. I'd feel like I was wasting precious time if I just sat around doing nothing, so while my wife lounged I'd break out the laptop and start writing.

But she's ruined me, I tells ya, ruined me.  Now, I want nothing more than to spend an entire Sunday sprawled out with her, doing absolutely nothing.  Never would I have enjoyed that.  To the contrary, I would have gone totally mad raving crazy eyed bonkers.

But now I look forward to it. And my writing career has suffered.

But as I prepare to hop on a train to travel into Hoboken, NJ, to a building overlooking the water, with the New York skyline beyond, I'm thinking to myself, is that really so bad?  I had a good run, and I'm sure I'll get back into it eventually -- there's still all those ideas kicking around, and all my old works that need to be upgraded -- but for now, can't I just enjoy spending time with my wife, doing absolutely nothing?

For now…