Hi there. I’ve a few things to tell you, and no end of other things I ought to be doing, so why don’t we Get Right To It. (And, to lend this missive the illusion of order and structure, I’ll number the items.)

1. The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown, the thirteenth Bernie Rhodenbarr book and the first novel since The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons in 2013, is scheduled for ebook and paperback publication on Tuesday, October 18. If you act quickly, you can still preorder the book from Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Kobo  Apple  Thalia  Vivlio
And why preorder? Well, doing so locks in the preorder price—$9.99 for the ebook, $17.99 for the paperback. (I don’t anticipate an increase in the ebook price, but one never knows. The paperback, on the other hand, is set to increase immediately upon publication to $19.99.)

Preordering also gives you one less thing to remember. A couple of mouse clicks and you’re sure to be one of the first to have Bernie’s latest adventure in your hands or on your eReader. There’s no risk that you‘ll wake up one morning in January, on the third day of a Caribbean cruise, wondering whatever happened to that book you meant to order. Something about a burglar, wasn’t it? And when will it come out? Oh, it already did? Rats. Sheesh, how’s I miss it?

And I know whereof I speak. The other day a package arrived, and I opened it to find Righteous Prey, John Sandford’s new novel. I’d completely forgotten about the book, and if there was a publicity blitz in recent weeks it managed to miss me completely. But months ago I’d preordered the book, and here it was. (And—no surprise here—it’s outstanding. Moreover, my aging memory being what it is, in a few months I’ll be able to read it again for the first time.)

So—preorder The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown. It’s already getting heartening reviews, and so far this week I’ve taped a pair of radio interviews, one with Vick Mickunas for WYSO and another with Chris Buckler for the Northern Ireland section of the BBC. (Both interviewers were well prepared and a pleasure to chat with—no surprise there; if you can, you may want to catch one or both.)

Or, if preordering feels too much like getting out in front of your skis, or a show of faith in a future you’re not all that certain of, well, go ahead and tie a string on your finger, and order the ebook or paperback on Tuesday. The same links will work, but I’ll run them again here, just to save you from having to scroll up: Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Kobo  Apple  Thalia  Vivlio

2.  For a while I’d thought I might go all pre-pandemic and schedule one or more in-store signing session, but that’s not gonna happen. But there’s a good and easy way for you to obtain autographed copies of The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown. Just click on this link for The Mysterious Bookshop; they’re taking orders for the book, and another couple of clicks will guarantee you a signed copy. (I’ll also be able to inscribe copies to order, if that’s your preference, but toward that end you might want to call the store at  (212) 587-1011 and let them know exactly what you want. They also have an extensive selection of my other books, including some elusive early first editions, should you have some gaps on your LB shelf that you’re eager to fill.)

3. My latest anthology, Playing Games, has been a long time in the works. Subterranean Press is publishing a deluxe signed-and-numbered hardcover edition, limited to 750 copies, and they’re now able to accept preorders in advance of publication in January. You can view the full table of contents on the preorder page; the lineup of authors is impressive, and the stories they’ve produced are genuinely outstanding, if I say so myself.

But, happily, I don’t have to say so myself. Publishers Weekly has been good enough to say so, in a starred review, which I’ll quote in full, because why not?

“One of the most impressive of the 17 crime stories involving games in this stellar anthology from MWA Grand Master Block (In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper) is Block’s own “Strangers on a Handball Court.” It riffs on Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, as the title suggests, and provides a wholly fair plot with a gut-wrenching surprise. Even knowing that multiple twists are coming doesn’t negate their impact in Jeffery Deaver’s devious “The Babysitter,” which opens with a classic trope: the innocent everyperson who stumbles on a deadly secret. When the charges of 17-year-old Kelli Lambert get bored playing Candy Land, Kelli’s search for another board game leads her into peril after the parents of the kids she’s watching suspect she’s spotted their secret plans to torch a casino so they can establish their own casino. David Morrell shines with the subtle and creepy “The Puzzle Master,” in which a couple become addicted to jigsaw puzzles by a particular artist, only to find potentially ominous clues linking disparate bucolic scenes. The wide range of stories and games in them begs for a sequel.”

I don’t know about a sequel. I think I may be done with practicing anthologism without a license. But I’ve said that sort of thing before, haven’t I?  Meanwhile, I should add, I’ll be self-publishing Playing Games in ebook and paperback editions, but not for a while, as I’m too busy by half these days. My editions should be available relatively early in 2023, and as soon as I know more I’ll pass the word.

4.  I may have mentioned earlier that Luigi Garlaschelli and Stefan Mommertz were at work on translating The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown into Italian and German respectively. I can now proclaim that Luigi’s rendition, Il Ladro che Leggeva Fredric Brown, is preorderable as an ebook right now at Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Kobo  Apple  Thalia  Vivlio, and will be officially released in both ebook and paperback on October 18, and Jeff Wong has furnished an Italian version of his terrific cover. The German version won’t be too far behind; rest assured I’ll let you know when it’s available.

5. I may have mentioned this before, but that’s no reason not to do so again: Subterranean will be publishing two limited hardcover editions of The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown, a 750-copy signed-and-numbered edition, and a high-ticket lettered edition limited to 15 (!) copies and bound, I shouldn’t wonder, in the skin of unborn unicorns. These won’t be out until sometime in 2023, probably in the spring, but I’ve done my part toward that end by signing the limitation sheets. Further details when I have them.

6. It’s no spoiler to tell you that the notion of parallel universes plays a key role in The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown. (I’ve given a taste thereof in book description on the Amazon page.) That concept is more a staple in science fiction, and the book’s already getting some attention in that world. (Or should that be worlds? Never mind.) Here are some examples:

“Lawrence Block tells a breezy, humorous tale of crime and a changing world that is at once wistful and clear-eyed. In the fragmented America of 2022, where people on both sides of the political spectrum find themselves wishing that things could return to the way they once were, it is delightful to read a well-told tale of what happens to two lovable characters when some of the things that they found themselves missing suddenly reappear in what seems to be a parallel universe.” —Jack Seabrook, Bare-Bones E-Zine

“Block doubles the stakes by taking as his source material one of the first science fiction novels to also be a commentary on science fiction: Frederic Brown’s What Mad Universe? In Brown’s novel, science fiction editor Keith Winton finds himself in an alternate universe constructed from his fantasies about what Science Fiction should be. Similarly, Bernie Rhodenbarr finds himself in a universe that has changed many of the things that have taken the joy out of his career as a thief and bookseller. Amazon no longer exists. Neither do security cameras. An old friend is miraculously restored to life. Is this really the best of all possible worlds?” —Erica Obey, What I’m Reading at Byrdcliffe

7. Oh, hell. I’ve gone and done it, I’ve unwittingly  buried the lede! I’d written all the foregoing when this popped into my Gmail-box, the latest column by Michael Dirda, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Washington Post:

“I generally take the bus to New York but this time managed to find a reasonably priced ticket on Amtrak. As usual, I waffled for an hour over what to read en route, finally settling on Lawrence Block’s just-published The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown, an unexpected but welcome late outing for Bernie Rhodenbarr, antiquarian bookseller, genial first-person narrator and professional thief.

“I was only halfway through Block’s novel — at 84, this beguiling storyteller has lost none of his flair — when my train rolled into Penn Station. Consequently, I had to break off just after Bernie and his lesbian friend Carolyn had stolen the Kloppmann Diamond from the Trump Tower-like penthouse of a sleazy billionaire. What about all the high-tech surveillance cameras, you ask? Block solves this problem with a bold science-fictional twist you should discover for yourself.”

Whew. I’ll end this now and get it off to y’all. At 84, this beguiling storyteller has almost certainly Forgotten Something Important, but his chance of remembering it is slim at best. I’m way too rushed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this newsletter is awash in typographical errors and broken links, but at this hour it’s more important that it be done than it be done perfectly.

So here you have it.

Cheers,

PS: As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find it of interest. And, if you yourself have received the newsletter from a friend and would like your own subscription, that’s easily arranged; an  email to lawbloc@gmail.com with LB’s Newsletter in the subject line will get the job done.

LB’s Blog and Website
LB’s Facebook Page
Twitter: @LawrenceBlock