Solitaire

It's often said that writing is a solitary occupation. As a writer, I can confirm that. But once the lonely work of writing is done and the book is published, the writer is no longer alone. Week after week he or she travels from bookseller to bookseller, from library to library, mingling with a great many people and--if he or she is an introvert, as I tend to be--trying hard to seem at ease with everyone and be obliging and cheerful, all the while struggling to overcome the shyness that is the natural concomitant of habitual solitude.

Of course not every writer is such a confirmed loner. Many are supremely comfortable in their public roles. Not me. Around Burnsville I'm known as The Man Who Stays at Home. So as much as I've enjoyed the last five months of touring with my new book, and as kind as everyone has been to me every place I've gone, I have to confess I'm very glad to be at home again, at least for awhile, alone with my wife and my cat and my dog.

That doesn't mean I want to shut myself away from all human contact. I may be a loner but I do enjoy staying in touch with those I care about and who I hope care about me and what I do. That's why I established this website and this blog--I thought it would be a way I could communicate with my readers. Vain hope! Week after week I dutifully check the meter that measures the hits on my website, and guess what? With only a few exceptions, the only people who check my website are my webmaster Britt Kaufmann and myself. I set up this blog a little over a year ago, and since then a total of four people have left messages. One of them was Britt. Speak of solitude! Well, at least it's quiet...