A January Update

I had hoped to have a cover for LONG EMPTY ROADS to show you by now, but Paige has run into issues with her Photoshop program. –When you absolutely need something screwed up, use a computer. They will find a way to let you down every time.

The hard copy version of LONG EMPTY ROADS won’t be ready by Feb. 2, sadly–but as long as I can get a simple flat done, the eBook version should still be on time. Given that hardly anyone bought a hard copy of the book, this should not set many people back.

Speaking of hard copies–My friend Maddy Hunter’s new book SAY NO MOOR is out now. She will be doing an event on Sunday at Mystery to Me in Madison around 1:00pm, I believe. If you’re in the area, please consider stopping in to say hello and grab a copy. Maddy is a heckuva writer and her books are very funny.

In other book news, Alex Bledsoe announced that his forthcoming Tufa novel, THE FAIRIES OF SADIEVILLE, will be the final in the series. This is a happy and a sad announcement. It’s always nice to have completion, and to have an author be able to finish a series on his terms is always a good thing. It’s better to finish something before it jumps the shark, so to speak. However, the Tufa novels are easily in my top five favorite book series. The characters are alive and breathing. The prose is crisp. The stories are wonderful. We need more books like the Tufa novels. I will be sad to see them end. Alex will keep writing other books, though. I will be very interested to see what he churns out next.

If you haven’t seen the commercial Jack Quincey did for LORD BOBBINS AND THE ROMANIAN RUCKUS, you should give it a play. Jack’s got too much talent to be kept down for too long. I’ve known the guy for 14 years now. (Sheesh, time flies…) He makes commercials and does some seriously good marketing for Everything Hobby in Rochester, MN. Follow their Instagram account for Jack’s puppetry. He puts out a new video almost daily. He’s doing marketing right.

After a brief thaw here in Southern Wisconsin, we are back into the teens. January typically gives a brief respite from the cold, but February is traditionally the coldest month. We had two weeks and change of subzero temps in December and early January, so getting back up to 45 was delightful. I hate the cold. I keep wanting to move to a warmer climate. I’ve been applying for jobs in the south, but I don’t foresee myself ever leaving Wisconsin. As much as I loathe the cold, the rest of the year is pretty nice here.

I’ll keep you posted on the new book. In the meantime, I think I’ll be at Mystery to Me on Feb. 2 to promote LORD BOBBINS AND THE ROMANIAN RUCKUS. If we can get a bunch of people there in Steampunk gear, all the better.

-S