It's been a while...

…since my last book. Coming up on three years. Not that I haven’t been writing. Just writing more slowly. And also delayed…by…supply…line…issues in the publishing industry. You remember the great toilet paper “shortage”? It ain’t just the paper you wipe your butt with that’s hard to come by. I’m hearing a lot of weeping from authors whose books got great reviews, or won an award, or hit a bestseller list, or whose aunt wants to buy ten copies for her book club—and there are no copies to be found. 

In retrospect, it was a good time to not be launching a new book. We’ve had two years with very few public appearance opportunities. No school visits, no bookstore signings, no conferences. This may change in the latter half of 2022. I hope so, anyway, because I have a new book coming out in October.

A lot can change in ten months. This pandemic was always managable in theory, but we are creeping toward the sort of social responsibilty that will make it manageable in practice. There are still too many anti-vax anti-mask people out there. There will always be some, just as there are still drunk drivers, cigarette smokers, and untrained, irresponsible gun owners. But their overall numbers are waning. Or so I choose to believe.

Anyway, I have this new book to look forward to. It’s called THE RAT QUEEN, and yes, there are rats. And a queen. Ten months is a  long way out, so I’ll say no more. Later, I’ll say plenty, because I am unhealthily excited about this one. I’ve seen a cover design. Here:

 

(It’s tiny because I’m not sure this is the final design.)

Be well, stay safe, and let us bring hope with us into the coming year.