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Notes from Deanna's Desk #2: Better Late Than Never

A long, long time ago (no, this is not the beginning of a Star Wars movie. Hah!)… when I first started my Substack, I thought it would be fun to do a recap of what I shared each week or month called “Notes from Deanna’s desk” of which I did exactly one post. Life, work, etc. I have no excuse really, but despite good intentions, that fell by the wayside very quickly. The reality is that if I have deadlines and life intrudes the first thing to go is social media, and the next thing to go is trying to maintain any semblance of a schedule on my website. And then I decided to hop off the social media hamster wheel, and that was that.

What Deanna Read #115: March 2026

What is this? Two months of early What Deanna Read posts in a row? The reason? Today in Easter Sunday and I'm technically off work while Hubby recovers from knee surgery. It's been a lot of stress, wrapping up work deadlines, clearing the deck, etc., so I can focus on Hubby. Oddly, I thought I'd have a bit more downtime too, but nope. Lots of running around like a mad chook fetching and caring for Hubby. And Hubby has been wonderful. He's doing great and recovering well. It's still a slow-ish and long road, but his surgeon (if you ever need hip or knee work done, Dr Mac is your guy!) is AWESOME. Right, onto the books...

Here's what I read in the last month.

The Soul in the Machine vs. The Squeak of the Wicker Chair | A Perspective on the Progression and Importance of Writing Craft

For most of my career, I lived in a world built on logic gates and systems architecture. My daily rhythm was defined by the precision of project management. In that space, your first language isn’t prose; it’s the structured clarity of technical requirements. When you spend decades analyzing how machines process data, you develop a balanced neutrality toward technology. To me, a new piece of software isn’t a monster or a miracle. It is simply a tool—a calculator, a CAD program, or a more efficient way to map a workflow. So, when yet another scandal rocks the publishing industry, I like to take a moment or many to dissect it within the context of my role in this world. And this is where I've landed. Sit tight, it's one heck of a ride...