Hey, I'm hitting the road today (more on that in a minute), but I wanted to drop by here first to:

1) Mention the blog tour currently happening for the inimitable Ms. Brandilyn Collins, who is blog-hopping even as we speak on behalf of her first Kanner Lake series novel, Violet Dawn. (As I was typing the title just now, I mistyped it as Violent Dawn. I'm not sure if that was a Freudian slip or not, but Brandilyn always gives a fun read. So please go buy a copy. Buy five.)

2) The reason I'm on the road today? I'm headed to the Montana Festival of the Book in Missoula. I get to Missoula more than a few times a year, but it's nice to be going back to talk about books. I'll do a reading on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm, so please drop in if you happen to be in town. It's free, after all. Looking forward to seeing writing friends such as C.J. Box and RoseMarie London, hoping to meet James Lee Burke, and definitely going to introduce myself to David Long, a Tacoma author who has to be the alter-ego of my Bethany House editor David R. Long.

Last but not least, I'm looking forward to quaffing a few of Jurgen Knoeller's fabulous Bayern beers--specifically his Oktoberfest, which, praise be to God, is now on tap all over Missoula.

The second book ("The Dead Whisper On") is done. Still doing some tweaks and such, and I'm sure Dave, my editor, will have some great suggestions, but it's done, and I'll be handing it in next week.

So the angst begins anew.

Nice to have the book done, but now I start wondering about the reaction it will get...especially because "Waking Lazarus" has been so well-received. The bar feels high; can I jump it? The second book is quite a bit different--same general genre, but more action-oriented, and not nearly as dark in tone. I'm hoping to capture a bit of the classic noir feel for some of the dialogue and characters. Also, I'm cleansing the palate a bit after WL; if I came out with another dark and brooding tale, I think people would always expect dark and brooding tales from me. And I'm really not an uber-brooder, when it comes down to it.

Since we're on the subject of "Waking Lazarus" (and yes, I realize we've been largely on the subject of "Waking Lazarus" for well-nigh a year now), I received some wonderful news last Friday: we've gone through the first printing. So, the book is going into a second printing even as we speak, which should be rolling off the presses some time this week.

Believe me, it feels great to go to a second printing. It means my dear mother has bought many, many more copies than I thought she would.