I’m happy to report that Bad Americans (The Human Tragedy Vol. 2) is, three months into 2021, 1/4 done. That means I’m still on track to finish the book by New Year 2022 per my New Years resolution. This, of course, could change: the most important thing is to produce the best book possible, not the timeline (at first I was way ahead, now after laboring over a rather long novella-like internal tale, I’m back on pace). And there will need to be revisions even after finishing a solid draft. But it’s good to know, given how much energy I’ve put into it so far, that it’s progressing so well.

Thanks also to all the beta readers who have already come forward to give me feedback, and those in line to do so in the future as well. The book is diverse and ambitious, to say the least, so it’s great to have so many perspectives on board. In fact, it’s essential. I believe George Orwell once called writing a book “A horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness” and Joseph Conrad said something similar. I wouldn’t say exactly the same thing, but it’s definitely highly encompassing in regards to mental energy.

In the meantime, while you wait for this one, you might want to check out the first volume of The Human Tragedy, Good Americans. I now realize that it is a rawer book than its anthology sequel, and in many ways, perhaps, its antithesis. But it has been said to “speak volumes about the human condition and modern life in America” by Kirkus Reviews, so perhaps it has something going for it 🙂