As usual, I am late updating this page. True Evil came out in paperback two days ago, I've already started getting email from first-time readers, yet I haven't posted one word about the new novel I just finished. Of course, my mind is now on the one I'm writing next, which will be my third (and possibly final) Penn Cage novel. My long-time readers know I have always stayed away from series characters, but while I was writing True Evil, Penn was apparently living his life, because a truly remarkable story came to me almost whole, with Penn and Tom Cage at the center of it. I am more excited than I have been in a long time, and this book - tentatively titled The Devil's Punchbowl - may be the first since The Quiet Game that I will rank with it in all ways.
The next book to hit the stores is called Third Degree. This one shares some characteristics with 24 Hours, most notably because most of the action takes place in one house, and all of it in a single day. The heart of this book is an American marriage, and the explosive secrets that lie at the heart of it. I believe that every reader will identify strongly with someone in this book, whether it's the husband, the wife, the paramour, or one of the characters who may seem peripheral but are most assuredly not. Third Degree is truly the kind of novel you want to read at one sitting. I wrote it very fast, and I felt as though the action was unfolding right in front of me. There are times when months of contemplation is the best way to approach a novel, and others when real-time intensity is the only way to get at certain kinds of truth. When you're dealing with years of pent-up emotion being released through extreme action, that's the only way to go. (As a side note, people are often nervous about giving my books to people for Christmas, as sometimes I write very explicitly about uncomfortable subjects. Third Degree would be an R movie, but there's nothing truly kinky in here, as there is in a few of my books. This one can go under the tree for Grandma. [No offense to grandmas. I've actually found older women to be more worldly and less easily offended about sexual matters than men.])
For those who have tried to post to the blog, I apologize. I write on such an intense schedule, and I have such a backlog of email - which I try to answer - that keeping up with the blog has proved impossible. I am going to make another attempt, however. For those who have written me and not received an answer, please be assured that I have at least read your mail, and I will try to respond when I can.
I am going to do a very brief tour in November. I will do the usual Mississippi stops, but the larger cities will be limited, and we will post them as soon as they are confirmed. I do know that I am coming to Washington D.C. for the first time ever. I've always received a lot of mail from there, so I will be glad to finally meet some of my D.C. readers in person. I will also be playing with the Rock Bottom Remainders at the Miami Book Fair on November 10th, as well as giving some sort of presentation during the day. If you're in Miami and you want books signed, come out to the fair and hear some rock and roll. I am still flying high from performing Don't Fear the Reaper in New York a few months ago at the 15th anniversary Remainders gig. Stephen King joined us for that show, and playing that song (from The Stand) with Steve singing it was an experience beyond words. Some songs from that show (Paperback Writer) made it to YouTube; I only wish someone had captured Don't Fear the Reaper for posterity. If anyone did, please email me at the address on this site.
Okay, I've run on long enough. Thanks to everybody for reading the books. I'm getting so much email lately that it feels like some sort of critical mass is being reached in terms of numbers. I hope I'm helping to prove that you don't have to write the same book over and over to get a large readership. Thanks also to the many people who helped with the writing of Third Degree, especially John Goodrich, a former Vietnam helicopter pilot, and Tom Johnson, who also flew choppers in Vietnam. If you want to know what flying helicopters in Vietnam was really like, read Tom's nonfiction memoir, To The Limit. It's a great piece of writing.
Hopefully I will be adding new info soon. Until then, warm regards,