It was going to be such a simple project. Really! Just read this old book edited together by Thomas Jefferson, and then move back to Moby Dick. It should have taken me a day or two.
But somewhere along the way I got sidetracked into re-creating the wheel. I'm doing a paraphrased edition of the Jefferson Bible, based on the World English Bible. The translation is okay to deal with (for a free version of scripture) but there's always room for improvement. Since I can't use the version(s) I'd like to use due to copyright and fair use issues, I'm doing a paraphrase of most of the sermons, parables, and miscellaneous teachings of Jesus – with some parameters. As a writer it is easy to get carried away with the revision. As an editor it is fun to nuke semi colons. As a reader, I hope it makes the words of Jesus more accessible.
With all of the discussion revolving around torture and Guantanamo Bay this week, it's a little harder for me to concentrate, and I've been a little bit distracted. All right, a lot distracted.
At any rate, I'm in Chapter 5 (of 17) and plan to have the text done by the end of this week. Then it will be off to the races to get the audio books and other files ready for publishing at lulu.com.
So please bear with me. Ahab is coming – he's just a bit gimpy due to the weather. Or something.
