Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
It’s hard to believe, but with the arrival of Thanksgiving comes the arrival of the third book in the Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles: The Watcher. In The Watcher, Anna battles a witch with ulterior motives, a Mexican drug lord with ties to both the
mortal and immortal worlds and her own demons in her continuing quest to find a place in the world. It's a tough fight, but the one thing Anna has always been able to handle is trouble.
Got some news this week. I sold a second short story, this time to a mystery anthology edited by Dana Stabenow titled Scene of the Crime. Straight mystery, no paranormal elements so it was different to write. No fangs or fur. Back to my roots, so to speak, because straight mystery was what I’d always written until The Becoming sold.
Speaking of The Becoming, it went into second printing. My editor was pleased, as am I, of course. Penguin is featuring me as one of their paranormal authors this month and the interview is posted on this
link. You can also meet my editor as she was also featured in a blog. Jessica Wade. Follow the
link.
One last bit of book news: Look for The Watcher on those “New Release” towers in Barnes & Noble. I’m told it will be there the entire month of December. Hope it means lots and lots of sales!
Some Media bits:
By now, most of you have probably seen the remarkable video of opera singer Paul Potts on the British edition of American Idol called Britain’s Got Talent. If you haven’t though, check
this out. He gave me goosebumps he’s so good. It’s a great story.
One of the writer’s I consider an influence, Ira Levin, passed away last week. The Times wrote: "Combining elements of several genres--mystery, Gothic horror, science fiction and the techno-thriller--Mr. Levin's novels conjured up a world full of quietly looming menace, in which anything could happen to anyone at any time. In short, the Ira Levin universe was a great deal like the real one, only more so: more starkly terrifying, more exquisitely mundane." What more could you ask for—that’s what made Rosemary’s Baby so good. It’s still one of my favorite books.
Marvel Comics unveiled the industry’s first online archive of more than 2,500 back issues. Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited will offer the archive in a high-resolution format on computer screens for $59.88 a year, or at a monthly rate of $9.99, at
marvel.com. Included are the first issues of Spider-Man, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk.
Something close to home: a Fort Collins woman was arrested for stealing more than 3,000 books worth $92,000 from two local Barnes & Noble stores and a B Dalton. During a nine-month period, she took the books four to eight at a time, and sold them on EBay for about $35,000.
Another interesting piece floating around the Internet is this Mercedes Benz SCL600. Before you call your dealer and order one, however, you should know this is a concept car introduced in 1996 at a Paris auto show. It’s not available… yet.
Just thought you might enjoy these pictures of Mario being serious. These were taken at the Colorado Book Awards. The lady to the right (trying to move as far from Mario as possible) is Susan Smith. She’s a fellow Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer, a damned good author who writes under the name Mackay Wood and a judge of the book award contest. She’s probably wondering how in the hell she could have picked this man’s book to be a finalist…. However, the Devil Duck photographs well!
Okay, the following is going to be a sappy bit about what I’m thankful for this year. You can stop reading now, it won’t hurt my feelings.
The disclaimer is that I don’t believe in a Supreme Being. I've seen too much. So when I give thanks, it won’t be with eyes raised or lowered or even closed. But there are things I’m thankful for and here’s the short list.
My family—my rock.
My friends –including many of you who are reading this and many who are not. I have wonderful, low maintenance friends who know I love them just as I know they love me without needing constant reinforcement.
My country—corny but true. We live in the best country in the world. If you don’t believe that, pack a bag. Visit Afghanistan or India or Africa or Pakistan or anywhere in the Middle East. Talk to teenagers in Europe or Russia or Japan. In spite of all the bad press, America is still the land of opportunity.
My good fortune –I’m realizing my dream. After wanting it all my life, I’m a published author. The credit belongs to readers, my agent, my editor and everyone in the family and friend’s list.
So, there it is. To all of you. Thank You.
See you next week.