Yes, I am still alive, and working, albeit slowly.  I'm getting sort of proficient with Dvorak, and you may have noticed the progress bar moving again (huzzah!)

And of course, just as I'm getting a little momentum built up, Holly Lisle comes out with a book I will have to drop everything to read.  The Create a Character Clinic is a wonderful book, and it's not one of those books where you have to skim a dozen pages of useless stuff to get to the couple of paragraphs that will help you.  I highly recommend this book--but be warned, you will have to stop every couple of pages to write down all the ideas you've suddenly got for your own characters, even ones you're already writing.

It's indispensable.  Just don't say I didn't warn you.