Last Friday I finished work on the penultimate draft of my new novel. It was cause for relief as well as whiskey, since I’ve had my head down for the last several months, pushing myself to see it through to completion. Most of the time I can both write and keep a loose hold on the rest of my life, but sometimes I just have to let go and drop into a fictional world. That’s what I’ve been up to since the summer, and although it’s been rewarding as far as the new book is concerned, I’m sorry to...