Just to add: you can listen to Siracusa's comments re: Merlin on Hypercritical [1].

Also worth listening to is Merlin's own podcast (with Dan Benjamin) called Back to Work [2]. A lot of his recent talk has been about his book, the challenges in meeting the deadlines (along the lines of 'a few thousand words by next week') and how he manages the process. Merlin himself is like no-one else, and I can assure you that you won't be bored by his show.

[1]: http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/15 [2]: http://5by5.tv/b2w