Summer is a good time to replace bad habits with good ones.  We all have more free personal time because all our favorite shows are in re-runs or replaced by vapid, pointless reality programs.  Yes, you could start exercising again, and volunteering for a worthy organization is always a great idea.  But if I could offer you one little piece of advice it would be the one thing that will benefit you as much as it will benefit me.

Read more books and watch television less.

There was interesting variety in my book signings this week. Friday afternoon I stood in front of what is possibly the smallest Borders in their system. It’s the third store in Washington Dulles International Airport. As always I made some new international friends, and fans, but I have to say the pace of that place was unreal.

Then Saturday I visited one of the smaller Books-A-Million stores, the one in the Beltway Plaza Mall. I’m told not many writers agree to sign in that store in Greenbelt, MD. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was greeted by a very friendly sales staff and signed just as many books there as I did at the airport. And I will be back there in November with all of my titles.

On line I was bouncing around the blogosphere all week. First, my publisher interviewed me about my airport signings and posted the interview to her blog. That entry of her blog got picked up by Buzz, Balls & Hype, the premiere book marketing blog which was started by mystery author M.J. Rose because, as she puts it, there are over 175,000 books published a year and they can’t all get reviews in the NYTBR.

Then a very cool blog called "Enter the Octopus" picked up and linked to my own blog, "Another Writer’s Life" in their Matt Bookosphere listing. They highlighted my post mentioning that my agent told me editors were looking for more urban fantasy.  You can click thru to my blog after you check theirs out.

Just before I sat down to write my newsletter (you can subscribe thru my web site - http//www.ascamacho.com) my lovely wife Denise asked me, “Where did the time go?” We actually spent almost three hours sitting in the kitchen eating Sunday breakfast. Well, actually we spent most of that time talking. What about? This and that. Who we care about and why. Plans for the future. What we each do that makes the other happy. Or sad. Nothing. Everything.

If you’re still single and you have a choice, try to look past appearances, money and social status and marry the person you love talking to the most. Trust me, after a few years, conversation will be more important than anything else.

Aside from my own regular blog I contribute to one I’m very proud of. I share “Criminal Minds at Work” - http://www.criminalmindsatwork.blogspot.com - with seven other crime novelists. The site gives fans a chance to step into the minds of this group of talented, twisted, slightly psychotic writers with a penchant for mystery, mayhem and murder. We all write crime fiction or sometimes true crime that gets the heart pumping and the blood boiling. If you’d like to know what mystery and thriller authors think about when they’re not plotting their next book, you need to bookmark this website.

Tomorrow I make my first appearance at the Books-A-Million in the Beltway Plaza Mall.  I’ll start signing books at 4 pm. in the store at 6118 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD.

Wish me luck!  And if that’s your near you, come by and make me feel welcome for my first time in your town.

Tomorrow afternoon I continue my summer airport tour with a visit to Borders in Washington Dulles International Airport.  If you’re flying onto or out of the Capitol area you can meet me between 1 pm and 5 pm.  You may need to look around a little.  There are actually three Borders bookstores in the airport and I don’t know which one I’ll be at.  With luck, we’ll meet and I can sign a novel for you.

Recently I’ve post my Blood and Bone promotional video in nearly 30 places, places with names like Blip.tv, Bolt, Break, Brightcove, Castpost, ClipShack, Crackle, Dailymotion, Facebook, GoFish, Google Video, Guba, JayCut,MySpaceTV, and of course, YouTube.    But one place you’ll find my video is a portal that can lead you to tons of other great books you’ll want to add to your library.

I’m talking about "It’s a Mystery," the blog maintained by my publisher, Echelon Press.  They put my video up just a few days ago, but if you explore the blog you’ll find posts by several Echelon authors, many of whom are among my favorite mystery writers.  It’s hard for me to choose from the thirty or so mystery writers in the Echelon stable, but there are links to all of us so you don’t have to.  I haven’t had time to read ALL of my fellow Echelon crime fiction authors but I can personally recommend the works of Mary Welk, Michael Black, Luisa Buehler, and Robert Goldsborough, all of whom, like myself, published elsewhere before leaping aboard the Echelon bandwagon.

Just as I was about to go to bed last night I checked in on one of my favorite sites - Cool Book of the Day and guess what?  I saw me!  My newest book, "Successfully Marketing Your Novel in the 21st Century" was the Cool Book of the Day!  If you move quickly, you might still see it on the site!  And even if you don’t there’s always something worth reading there, so check it out.

Friday afternoon I got to hang out in Ronald Reagan National Airport for a couple of hours with an old pal.  The manager of the Borders in National Airport used to run the Borders Express in Manassas, VA.  I signed books with him there and he invited me to do the same at his new store.  As always it was a blast to greet the travelers and sign some novels.

But that’s not all the news.  For example, one of my readers, Branko Dusan, has begun an Austin S. Camacho Customer Community on Amazon.com.  This is a place where people can set up discussion groups, lists, and guides related to my writing.  You can also post images.  And what only readers of my newsletter will know, it’s where you can also get a free autographed book.

Just join the community and post a photo of yourself or someone else holding or reading one of my books.  Then send me an email with your mailing address and which of my books you’d like to have.  It’s that simple.

I’m also running a contest right now for fellow writers, in support of my newest book, "Successfully Marketing Your Novel in the 21st Century."  It’s also pretty simple.  Just send me your best tips on how to market full length fiction.  You could win a copy of my marketing manual and maybe $50 worth of promotional materials for your next book.

But the big news is that one of the meetings at Thrillerfest has already born fruit.  Starting this week I’ll be hosting the BlogTalkRadio show "Book Bridge: From Authors to Readers" every Monday night at 8:30 Eastern Time.  The fifteen minute segment gives African American authors a chance to talk about how their books cross genres and appeal to a broad and varied audience.  Book Bridge airs live but each show is archived for later listening.

I love it when I have a new featured review to post on my web site.

I met Bonnie Webster at a recent event at the Borders in Dulles Town Center.  We chatted for a bit and I learned that she’s an Army brat like my kids, only her dad was a WWII hero who gave 31 years to his country. 

It was a real pleasure to hear from her, especially when she had such kind things to say about my novel, The Troubleshooter.  Of course the best compliment for a writer is to hear that a reader is moving on to another of his books.  Thanks you, Bonnie, for your sweet e-mail.  I am pleased to add your words to my web site as this week’s featured review.