The Deadline Dragon, the sequel

Well, the good news—actually the great news—is that my editor really loves Ransom. The not-so-good news is that Putnam’s is keen on publishing next February, which means that they will need my Author’s Note, Afterword, Acknowledgments, maps, cast of characters, and my responses both to the edited and copy-edited manuscript all before I leave for England in early September. So this means yet another epic struggle with the Deadline Dragon. And it also means, of course, that my Facebook time will be hit-or-miss for the rest of the summer. I know I can count upon you guys to carry on in my absence. I don’t anticipate any problems on my personal page, but you’re a livelier bunch on the fan club page, so please don’t cause too much mischief or stage a coup.
I will pop by whenever I can. Meanwhile, I want to express my admiration for Queen Elizabeth’s action in approving the parliamentary bill that will now allow same-sex marriage and give all British citizens the right to marry those they love. I see this as a basic civil liberty and I am very sorry that only twelve or thirteen states in my country have legalized it. New Jersey would have been one of them had our governor not vetoed it; he ought to be ashamed of himself.
More later, I hope. I also hope that all in the path of this scorching, deadly heat wave now afflicting both sides of the Atlantic will somehow keep cool. The heat index here is 105 degrees F.