Well, my respite is over, and it was way too short. The pages arrived by mail this week (thanks, Bill!) and I’m back at it again. Unfortunately, for all the hoopla I’ve given it here, the material was a tad disappointing. Not too much in the way of interest. It was a collection of letters and sad to say, most of what we write to other people is just not book-worthy. Charming perhaps, but not really something to write about, so to speak.

There’s still lots of fun material left on the Boucher book. The man corresponded with everyone from Asimov to Queen to L. Ron Hubbard (hi, Tom Cruise!) It’s always been a bit of a dilemna for me. I like to do the research for a book, but often it means going through the correspondences of many famous people. I always feel a bit odd doing this, as if I’m invading the privacy of these long-dead folks.

I get over those feelings when I find a nugget that has to be included in my book or something that demands more research. And the papers are usually donated to libraries, which means the authors knew that they would be read by others. So it’s not terrible, but I pity my poor biographer who will have to wade through millions of meaningless messages.

My favorite moment was going through the Boucher papers was when I pulled out some correspondence from a living writer who had a few questions about permission for a biography. It was my letters to Phyllis White about some Boucher quotes for the Rice biography. The wheel had turned full circle on that.

For those of you who have been asking, the potential next biography has fallen through — so I’m back to the drawing board. If you have any ideas, please let me know.. I’m considering several more at this point.

*** Now reading Red Threads by Rex Stout.