Novel Stats:

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Words Total	98,500

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Short Story Stats:

Written	2
Submitted	2
In Circulation	2
Rejected	0
Sold	0

Tuesday,
February 8, 2005

The things that go through your head

So I lay there last night, as you do, trying to go to sleep while my brain decided to whir away on its own, when it came up with an observation on something that has always bugged me.  In Heinlein's later books, he has his heroes and heroines bumping pelvises a lot, but do any of them actually love each other?

It's mentioned here and there, yes, and there's various instances of infatuation, respect, affection, lust, you betcha -- but I'm having a dilly of a time trying to think of an example of honest-to-Pete love. Even in cases like Lazarus and his non-Howard wife Dora, there was always the sense the Lazarus hung around because he could spare the time and she wanted him -- he certainly cared about her, and he mourned her after she died, but I never got the impression that he loved her as an romantic equal.

I certainly haven't read his entire oeuvre, so it's quite possible that I missed an instance here or there.  But based on what I have read, his character strike me as a bunch of folks who are quite pleased with their superhuman intelligence/lifespan/gonads, and never quite dig into the morass of emotions that make us human.  Lots of brains and sex, not much heart.  Does that make sense, or am I missing something?

Speaking of writing

I finally got the first two stories of the year out and in circulation, including a short piece to Asimov's (the zombie short-short I'd originally written for Small Bites that wasn't finished until after the deadline).  Sheila may well bounce it, but I LIKE it and I wanted to start at the top of the list for rejections. 

I must say, it feels good.