I have yet to meet a scholar who doesn’t get at least a little bit excited when their work is cited. Quite by happenstance this evening, I was browsing my name associations in Google Scholar for a totally unrelated purpose and stumbled across a book review from 2019 that I never knew existed. It was published in a peer-reviewed journal of a noted publisher, and it covered my first book (released in 2018)!

In the interest of transparency, I will admit that my initial thought was to not read it, in case it had negative feedback. But then, I told the Imposter Syndrome Monster to shut up, because my publisher has already invited me to submit a proposal for a 2nd edition. That particular book has sold more than 750 copies worldwide, which I realize isn’t anywhere near New York Times Bestseller status, but for a book on ethical management of public resources??? That’s still pretty damn good.

After a few minutes of waffling, I decided to read the article, and I was pleased to find that it was complimentary. It included some recommendations for further consideration in a 2nd edition, which I sincerely appreciated. (Unfortunately, as I’ve noted previously, the current state of the Union isn’t very conducive to writing a manuscript on Ethics in Fiscal Administration … particularly since the current administration seems to not have a f**king clue what “ethics” entails. Perhaps I can focus on writing a 2nd edition once the majority of the American public pulls its head out of its posterior. Sigh. 

At any rate, here we are, screaming into the void.