As you know, there's a certain online bookseller whose name we never mention and to whom we never "link." But we think about it all the time with various degrees of suspicion and disgruntlement. And yesterday we noticed that they suddenly switched the paperback of my first book (THE MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF THE VALUABLE TREASURE) from "ships in 24 hours" status to "ships in 1 to 3 weeks." That's not nice! It won't encourage people to enjoy the fruits of my brain! Such a delay is usually reserved for scholarly works about the Mayan language from small university presses. That's fine if you are a Mayan scholar! Three weeks is no big deal! But most regular joes need a quick fix in this day and age of "computers" and "automobiles." And the paperback only came out in January. It should be easy to obtain. I trust that this is a temporary setback due to the kind words of Laura Lippman on NPR. I mean, in my fevered imagination, perhaps this electronic bookseller has been overwhelmed with requests from NPR listeners, necessitating the delay. But I am here to let you know that many other reliable booksellers seem to have no problem stocking the book, so knock yourselves out! Powell's, for example, seems adequately prepared for the Dionysian onslaught. I was walking by A Cappella just yesterday, and noted that they were stuffed to overflowing with moldering copies of my dense, challenging work. For that matter, "click" on any of the independent bookstores listed in my "links" to the right. They will ship you a book as happily as any giant octopus of commerce. Plus they take sweet, tender care. Oh yeah, and the publisher has had tons of trouble unloading the hardcover. Wouldn't you prefer a hardcover? They're lying around everywhere like manna. All pretense of "art" has now officially fallen away. You know what the "blog" is for.
