My new topic is tedious.

Or rather, researching it is tedious.

My previous research had me reading about sex, violence, and disputes between neighbors. Fun, right? This time, however, my job is to read through and digest five years' worth of 800 year-old account ledgers, official correspondence, municipal ordinances, personal contracts, and charitable donations. And then make them sing.

Sure. No problem.

So why am I working on this topic? For the best reason possible: I want to know more about it. This morning, while digging through an account book for one year for a major territory (this person owes x amount to that government body, which collects it, then redistributes it in such-and-such a manner… deargodpleasekillmenow), I realized that I really wanted to be able to talk convincingly and enthusiastically about the larger topic. I wanted to know about that topic.

[VALUABLE LESSON ALERT!!!] This was the same thing I discovered about a year from the end of my first book: I didn't want to write the book. But I did want to read it. And since no one else was stepping up to write it, then it was up to me.

((rolls neck, stretches hands and fingers)) Okay, here goes...