Tomorrow I’ll kick off the month of August at the Borders in Woodbridge VA.  This store is just off I-95, just outside the Potomac Mills Mall.  If you’re out and about shopping Saturday, stop by at 2904 Prince William Pkwy, Woodbridge, VA, have a coup of Seattle’s Best Coffee and say hi.

Mystery duo Robert W. Walker and Miranda Phillips Walker are guests on my main blog, “Another Writer’s Life” discussing what happens when mystery writers unite in matrimony.  How much acrimony?

In this section I like to point you to books I think will be good additions to your library, or to places to find them.  Today I want to tell you about GenReview.

 That name could be read as a combination of the words genre and review or as a genre-view.  Either would be appropriate.  They only review popular fiction, those stories written primarily for their entertainment value.  They look at crime fiction, romance, speculative fiction, westerns and more. 

 I am very proud that they chose to take a look at Russian Roulette, and their review of my book was uniquely insightful.  I’ll be looking for what they have to say about other writers now.

I just have to mention the good time I had Saturday at the Borders in Largo, MD.  It was a hot day outdoors but the Capital Centre is such a cool place that a few people stopped by anyway.  I can’t say I saw a lot of book browsers, but I had an unusually high percentage of meetings to signed books so it worked out well.

Today my book signing is at Borders -  931A Capital Centre Boulevard, Largo MD - 4 pm to 8 pm.

On line, check out Local Talent Books & Music.  The website is an online bookstore that specializes in books and music by Virginia authors and musicians. The Local Talent mission (other than selling lots of books) is to help increase exposure of regional authors.  Local Talent offers the best selection of books from Virginia authors,and addsa great selection of books and music from our neighbors from the south and east coast, in addition to bestsellers.  You can also subscribe to their newsletter so you don’t miss out on what’s happening with your favorite local authors and musicians.

Did you miss me?  I know it has been a while since my last newsletter.  I ran off to the other edge of the country for long weekend to attend a very important wedding and returned to a mountain of work that had waited patiently for my return.  So each day this week I’ve spent time working on the past while new requirements piled in on me from the present.

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack at once.

Since I posted last I enjoyed a fun book signing at Books-A-Million in Greenbelt, MD, which gave me a chance to visit with old pals who work there including one who writes some pretty cool speculative fiction.  And if you live near there, they have some copies of Blood and Bone left.

I also got the chance to read part of my short story in “New Lines from the Old Line State, an Anthology of Maryland Writers” at the Writers Center.  The real fun of these events is listening to the other authors in the anthology reading their stories, poems and essays.  If you weren’t there you missed a great event.

I also learned that Russian Roulette is on the shelves in a number of independent mystery bookstores.  I can’t tell you how big that is to me, because these people know their mysteries and are known to be selective as to what they’ll carry.  So, I want to take this opportunity to give a big shout-out to these fine stores around the country:

ALIBI BOOKS - Glenview, IL

UNCLE EDGAR’S MYSTERY BOOKSTORE - Minneapolis, MN

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE - Omaha, NE

THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP - New York, NY

MYSTERIES & MORE - Nashville, TN

MYSTERY ON MAIN STREET - Brattleboro, VT

If you live near any of these great places, get in there and pick up a few good books.  And if you see my novels in an independent store not listed here (or run one) please let me know so I can properly recognize my bookseller friends. 

On line news includes a very favorable write-up on “You Gotta Read Reviews.”  They have a very strict but fun rating system and they rated Russian Roulette as a “ You Gotta Read - Our highest rating - very few books will earn this award.”  Very flattering indeed.

Elsewhere, I spotted a very nice article, not about my fiction but about my blog, on the on-line Examiner.  It seems someone does get something out of my blatherings.

And Karen Syed, the driving force behind Echelon Press, posted a reminder on her blog, “The Life of a Publisher” about an anthology I placed a short story in.  All the authors donated our stories for a good cause, and all the proceeds from sales of “The Heat of the Moment” still go to the heroes of the 2007 San Diego Wildfires through the support of the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County.  And charity aside, the book is chock full of good reads, including a Hannibal Jones story for you completists.

Most importantly, Tomorrow you will find me signing Russian Roulette and my other novels at Borders in Largo, MD.  I’m continuing the evening event experiment, seeing how many visitors I get from 4 pm to 8 pm.  If that store is in your neighborhood, stop in at 931A Capital Centre Boulevard and say hi.

I’ve posted more about landing book signings on my main blog, “Another Writer’s Life.”

I am very proud of this article, not about my books but about my blog!  Check it out!

Writers! Are book signings a waste of time? Check my main blog .