I did no writing yesterday -- at least not original writing, save for a biographical note. But I did revise and send out an essay I wrote some time ago.

I committed the cardinal sin with this piece, which is that I did not send it out after it was rejected by the first publication I sent it to. Very foolish on my part. I know myself well enough to understand that I'll do little writing if I don't have some smidgen of hope floating around out there. Maybe this will be sufficient to get me writing original material again (aside from legal stuff and book reviews -- plenty of writing for which I give myself insufficient credit).

I finished reading Vincent McCaffrey's Hound. I was a bit puzzled that the novel turned largely on the inheritance tax, because the tax had a very high limit federally at the time this book was written, and a relatively low rate at the state level. But I loved the book talk, and the other, more ancient, mystery posed in the book. I'll be reviewing it on this site soon.

I also think yesterday may have been a record: six new books came from publishers, and half of them are books I'm genuinely interested in reading (that's a pretty standard ratio). The most exciting new book is M.L.N. Hanover's latest Jayne Heller urban fantasy, Killing Rites. I couldn't resist starting it even before I'd disposed of the wrappings. It shows every sign of being the best one yet in the series, The Black Son's Daughter. No way I can save this one to relish while we're in Hawaii; I'll eat it up whole in the next few days.