This won’t take long…

Yeah, right. You know who was the first person to say that? Edward III.

Really? What was the occasion?

He was addressing the troops right before the start of the Hundred Years War.

Oh. Well, this definitely won’t take that long. I have only a few things to tell you, and I shan’t dawdle.

First, Collectibles. That’s my new anthology, with an all-star roster of contributors, as you can readily see for yourself. And I could explain the book’s premise and say something about its contents, but why don’t I save us both some time? The book includes an introduction, “The Elephant in the Room,” and I had such a good time writing it that I’m pleased to share it with you.

You expect me to click on the link and read it now?

If you’d like. Or maybe you can find someone to read it to you. Whatever works.

A couple of things you should know about Collectibles, aside from the fact that it got a great review in Publishers Weekly:

(1) Subterranean Press has brought out a deluxe signed-and-numbered limited edition. They’ve begun filling orders, and as of now they still have a small number of copies available. If you want one, well, time is of the essence. Click here and lock it in.

(2) I’m publishing the ebook and paperback editions myself, and have  been accepting preorders in advance of a May 31 release date. But why wait? We’ve moved up the release date to May 23. But we’ll continue to honor the preorder ebook discount; if you order the ebook before the end of the month, you’ll get it for the preorder price of $6.99. (On June 1 it pumpkins all the way up to $9.99.) That’s the deal on all of these platforms: Amazon – Apple – Kobo – Barnes & Noble

And now a few words about A Writer Prepares. If you read Michael Dirda’s extraordinary review in the Washington Post, you know this memoir of my auctorial beginnings has drawn more press attention than a self-published book could ever expect. A few hours from now, on Sunday May 23 at 10:30am Eastern time, I’ll be interviewed by the indispensable Vick Mickunas on WYSO. And there’s more newspaper coverage coming soon. I can’t really talk about it yet…

You’re such a tease, LB.

I know. But, in the spirit of Edward III, let’s move right along. I’ve had a batch of inquiries from collectors who’ve been unable to buy the SST deluxe limited edition of A Writer Prepares, with the remarkable Jeremy Paillier artwork. It’s a short run, just 400 copies, but as I write these lines there are still copies available—exclusively at the publisher’s website. They’re based in the UK but have no problem filling US orders, and paying with PayPal makes the transaction a breeze.

Okay, let’s move on. My next newsletter will be devoted entirely to my nine Jill Emerson novels, eight of which are getting cover makeovers and hardcover editions. (For the six that started out as paperback originals, these will be their first time in hardcover.) All but two are already audiovailable, with Barbara Nevins Taylor presently at work on A Week as Andrea Benstock. That leaves only The Trouble With Eden  unrecorded, and it’s in the on-deck circle.

I don’t think I ever met up with the word “audiovailable” before.

You’ll probably never encounter it again—although I could use it right now if I were to tell you about Bill Weeden’s new rendition of Candy and Dana Roth’s performance of Born To Be Bad. And I could trot it out again in a month or so when P. J. Morgan wraps up her production of Campus Tramp.

Timeless classics, all of them.

And it won’t be long before Theo Holland completes his work on Broadway Can Be Murder, and—

Whoa! Wait a damn minute, will you? Is that a new novel? Because I never heard of it, and I don’t see it in Terry Zobeck’s bibliography, A Trawl Among the Shelves.

It’ll probably be in Terry’s next edition. And no, it’s not a new book. It’s sixty years old, and for years it went slinking around under the awful and wildly inappropriate title a paperback publisher hung on it.  Strange Embrace—now what kind of title is that for a hardboiled mystery novel with Broadway producer Johnny Lane discovering the body and solving the crime?

So you changed the title to Broadway Can Be Murder.

Yes, and not a moment too soon. The whole story’s recounted on the book’s Amazon page, and I won’t repeat it here, because—

Because this isn’t the Hundred Years War.

Not yet. Anyway, Theo’s at work on Broadway Can Be Murder, and Bill Weeden and Dolores McDougal are teaming up for Circle of Sinners, and Peter Berkrot has completed work on A Writer Prepares for Tantor Audio, and—

Yes?

Actually, I think that’s all.

It’s plenty. A Writer Prepares comes out on June 24^th, and that’s the day you turn 83. I know age is just a number, but as numbers go it’s a high one, and shouldn’t you be taking it easy?

You’re right, and I’m going to start this very minute. While all of y’all read this, I’ll be lying down for a nap.

Cheers,