There’s one day that never gets old no matter how many times I experience it. On Wednesday, I opened the door to the UPS man. While I chased down the puppy who has now learned to master stairs, I chatted with him about dogs and such. I really didn’t pay attention to the box until I got back inside, one arm around the dog, and the other around the box.

I opened it, and to my surprise, it was my copies of the Boucher biography. There’s no other sensation in life like seeing your brand…

Last week, I shared that Ellery had hit his head on the bedframe last week and given himself a concussion. His condition improved for a few days, and then stopped. We took him back to the vet, only to learn that his balance problems had been caused by cancer. X-rays showed that he had bone cancer, which had mestastisized into his brain. The poor sweety was in a great deal of pain, and with a very heavy heart, we had him put to sleep on New Year’s Eve.

Needless to say, we’re…

I'm curently editing Intent to Sell for its third edition. Things have changed a lot since I first wrote the book back in 2001. The marketing landscape has changed drastically. I find these days that many authors are already doing many of the babystep things that I suggest in the first chapters of the book. I'm glad to see that. It raises the bar for professionalism in the field.

I'm also amazed at the technology which had developed in 7 years. Book trailers, podcasts, audio, and RSS…

Yes, it can be done.

The math teacher (aka me) is going to teach a writing lesson on detective stories to my 8th graders! For all of those who have said that it can’t be done, it is being done. They’re enjoying the lesson, which is all about having a mystery that is based in part of probability. They have to have a sleuth and a Watson, so that they can explain the probability situation to the Watson. If some of the stories are good, I am going to try to put a book of them together for…

Well, it only took me 30 years and we won't mention how many dollars, but I've done it. As of today, I'm the proud owner of an American 1st edition of every Agatha Christie published. What started out as a nice way to read books, back in the 70s when hardcovers were only a few bucks, grew into a collection. I was probably 5 years and 25 books into the project before I even thought of it as one.

Many of my collections got my start back then. Craig Rice, Ellery Queen, my Van Dines, and…