"So tell me about your current writing project." "What's your next book about?"

Nothing breaks me out into a cold sweat faster than statements and questions like these. Why?

Superstition.

Normally I don't subscribe to the nonsense of superstitions. However, I am a bit quirky when it comes to talking about my current and future writing projects. A dreadful feeling falls across me when I discuss what I haven't finished. I'm certain that discussing works in progress jinxes them.

I heard author Silas House say that writing is a supernatural thing. I believe this. It's a lot of hard work plus a little magic.

Magic transforms the writer's words, gives them substance, imbues them with meaning. That transubstantiation is the completion of the spell. If you talk about your writing before the spell is complete, it loses its power.

So, if I seem evasive when you ask me about my next book, don't dig. I'm trying to retain the mystery and the magic of the process. Believe me, the book will be better for it!