I wouldn’t be sitting here right now were it not for the advice of John Scalzi, many many years ago at a Journalcon in Pittsburgh, where he calmly explained that it might not be the craziest thing in the world for me to attempt to be a full-time writer. Like, as a career.

He forgot to mention what I should do when I walk away from my job and smash my car to bits all in the same week. When you use different words to describe my life, I sure do sound like a bum.

Anyway, now John’s all fancy-pants and king of the sci-fi world, so he’s very busy with a deadline. This is good news for the readers of Whatever, because this month John is showcasing a different writer every day. The good news for me is that I got tagged for today. Good luck with your deadline, John. And thanks for the kind words.