I’ll be brief. In fact I’d skip this altogether, but there are three items I feel the need to call to your attention.

To wit—

THIS:

This is the first of the month, and each new month is a new opportunity for those of you who are Amazon Prime members to borrow a Kindle Select eBook free of charge. Here, for your convenience, is a list of all my eligible titles:

Ehrengraf for the Defense (This is the collection of all 11 Ehrengraf stories; the individual stories are also Kindle-available, but why pick up one at a time when you can borrow the lot for free?)

All the John Warren Wells books3 is Not a CrowdBeyond Group SexCome Fly With UsDifferent StrokesDoing It!Eros & CapricornLove at a Tender AgeThe Male HustlerThe Mrs. Robinson SyndromeThe New Sexual UndergroundSex and the StewardessThe Sex TherapistsSex Without StringsThe Taboo BreakersTricks of the TradeVersatile LadiesWide OpenThe Wife-Swap Report

These Matthew Scudder stories from The Night and the Music: Out the WindowA Candle for the Bag LadyLooking for DavidThe Merciful Angel of DeathA Moment of Wrong ThinkingOne Last Night at Grogan’s

These stories: Keller on the SpotKeller’s AdjustmentCatch & ReleaseA Chance to Get EvenScenariosHow Far?Welcome to the Real WorldWho Knows Where It GoesSweet Little HandsHeadaches and Bad DreamsYou Don’t Even Feel ItIn For a PennyDolly’s Trash & TreasuresThree in the Side PocketLike a Bone in the Throat

THAT:

I had a delightful surprise yesterday when the Huffington Post ran a piece about real-world promotional tie-ins for books…and featured the Philatelic Edition of HIT ME. They gave it a very generous write-up, illustrated the free souvenir sheet, and included links to the eBay listing and to Keller’s Page. What a treat!

THE OTHER THING:

The other thing is HIT ME, the new Keller book, and it goes on sale February 12. I just saw a full-page ad for the book in the new edition of The American Philatelist, and there are other ads scheduled in Linn’s and American Stamp Dealer & Collector, and advance orders were strong enough to trigger a second printing. So I’m cautiously optimistic.

If you want to guarantee a first printing, and to pick up a signed copy in the process, here’s a list of estimable booksellers who will have signed firsts for sale: Alabama Booksmith | Book Carnival | Book People | The Booksmith | Carmichael’s Bookstore | Garden District Bookshop | Iowa Book |Lemuria | Murder By the Book | Murder on the Beach | Mysterious Bookshop | Mystery One | Once Upon A Crime | Poisoned Pen | Seattle Mystery Bookshop | Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore

And if you want the Limited Philatelic Edition, well, we only printed 500 of the little darlings, and they’re going surprisingly fast. Last I looked, we were down to 77.  Here’s that link again…

And there you have it—this, that, and the other thing.

Cheers!

LB