New Comment Section Too Scary?

I saw the other day that Blogger came up with a new option for allowing comments--letting you type it right onto the window in a box. I've received plenty of comments since then, but I have also heard of people having trouble. So, if you have tried and can't comment under the new system, e-mail me and let me know. Two2067 at aol dot com. I do have moderation on, so you should at least get the "comment awaiting moderation" notice if you try to comment. So if you haven't commented in the last few days, do a test one and see what happens.

Thanks. Happy Halloween.

(Ooh, new top banner at redsox.com.)

Options

I was thinking, what are the other big national booksellers besides B&N and Borders (and Amazon)? I actually had to look it up. Turns out the next biggest is Books-a-Million. They've got our book, and their on-line "club member" rate is a couple cents cheaper than Amazon's. So, you can choose them, or one of those others, but we hope you'll get it from an independent bookstore like Kate's in Cambridge, Bookworm in West Hartford, Broad Street Books in Middletown, CT, or Murder by the Book if you happen to be in Houston, Texas.

I've had a lot of really cool experiences with putting out my first book, but one I haven't had yet is seeing it for sale in one of the chain stores--B&N shows every New England store having Dirty Water in stock, so I'll have to check out my nearest one tomorrow.

Ya Gotta Have Hartford

Last night in West Hartford was fun. I posted about this one at my main blog. At our reading, I told people about where I'd just been--at the old home of the Dark Blues, Hartford's only major league baseball team, from back in '76. 1876, that is.

We also had a great time doing Robin's radio show a few days back. I'll post the link to our interview when she puts it online. And we had fun on Diane & Ray on WTIC--Diane was there tonight and has been hyping our book on air, despite being a Yankee fan.

Our next event will be another Connecticut one--details coming soon.

Reading/Signing This Tuesday In West Hartford, CT

Tuesday, October 28th, 7 PM, we'll be at the West Hartford Library for a free reading/signing. Come on down and listen, chat with us, or whatever. If you buy a book, we'll be happy to sign it. We'll also be doing a little cross-promotion with my girlfriend's soap company, Stella Marie Soap. The first 50 people to make a purchase will get a "Big Poppy" soap. (Her soap smells so good, you'll want to eat it.)

Details from the library's website:

"Author readings are held at the Noah Webster (Main) Library, 20 S. Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut. Readings are free but seating is limited. Parking is also free for those who park in the Isham Garage and bring their parking ticket to the event. Books will be available for purchase at each event. For more information, please call the library at: 860-561-6990."

Reading With Robin

Tomorrow, Saturday, my mom and I will be interviewed on Reading with Robin, on 920-AM Providence. It's also on the web here. Her show runs 7-8 AM. I think we'll be on around 7:20 or so. If you miss it, it'll be available on Robin's site eventually.

It's a call-in show, so prepare to call and ask us a question!

We'll also be at the West Hartford Library this coming Tuesday night, 10/28. More on that soon.

The Big Day

The interview on WTIC (the station I grew up desperately trying to pull in over static to hear the Red Sox games on) went great. My mom and I were on from our separate houses, and we didn't talk over each other once...

Then at Redbones, lots of people were there, lots of books were sold and signed, and everybody seemed to have a good time. Kate of Kate's Mystery Books, who puts on these parties, was really nice, and invited us to sign at a holiday party at her store. We met a lot of other really nice people, too. Even though I used to live right near Redbones, I never knew how Red Sox-y their bar was. The owner showed us around--they have these giant posters with every Sox player's stats, and trivia questions on the wall. I'll have to watch a game there next year. (She assured me they have some good vegetarian stuff.)

We got to sign a book for Stephen King! Granted, he hasn't gotten it yet, but Kate said he does go to her store sometimes--so if he does, he'll get our book. That would be the holy grail, right there. Of course, his buddy and ours, Stewart O'Nan, gave us a blurb for the jacket, so maybe Stephen will see our book, turn it over, and say, "Ah, approved by Stewart....I wonder if these authors would like to sit with me in my sweet box seats at Fenway...." (Notice where my priorities are. Then again, I'd be happy with a signed copy of The Shining. With Red Sox tickets inside. There's a lot of ways he could go, really....)

[Update: Terribly, I forgot to mention I also got to meet Bill Nowlin, and sign a book for him!]

Season Over

The Red Sox season is officially over, as they finish a game away from the World Series. We are bummed, but remember, in our book, which takes place in 2007, the Red Sox win in the end. No matter how many times you read it.

The book is finally listed as "In Stock" on Amazon--I'm glad we got to see that before the end of the baseball season. If you ordered a while ago, because of the delays, you may have to go and "approve" your shipment. So if you get an e-mail from Amazon, read it carefully.

If you're in Connecticut, flip on the Diane & Ray show on WTIC-1080 AM Tuesday morning around 8:20 AM, as we'll be getting interviewed.

That night, we'll be at Redbones in Somerville, Mass., 5:30 to 7:00 PM for a signing/release party. Free appetizers!

Release Date

The release date put up by Amazon was October 12th. That date has come and gone, but the books are currently being distributed--so if you ordered through Amazon, they should be shipping it soon, despite the fact that you'll probably get the "sorry, this title has been delayed" e-mail.

If you're looking to get the book at an actual store, go ahead and try it--let us know when your bookstore gets it. I can't wait to see this thing on a shelf!

Schedule

Sat, 10/11, 7:00 PM: Professor Thom's, New York City (signing before Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 2) (more info here)

Tues, 10/21, 5:00 PM: Redbones BBQ, Davis Square, Somerville, MA. (book party by Kate's Mystery Books, reading/signing, on eve of World Series)

Tues, 10/28, 7:00 PM: West Hartford Library (reading/signing)

More details on each appearance as they get closer.

Rocky Mountain High

Nice review in the Rocky Mountain News. "Grade: A." I haven't gotten an A since fifth grade!