9.28.2007

Phil Bebb

I've just learned that an old friend and professor is dead, stabbed to death by his adult son. The son apparently had a history of psychosis. Phil was a genuinely kind and decent man, and a good friend to me and my mother. He was stabbed over forty times, apparently. He was stabbed in the eyes. I can't think of any more horrifying way to die. Jesus.

9.26.2007

Don't you hate it when people compare you to Parker and Leonard?

Hector sent this one along today, from Claire Ernsberger of the Sullivan County Democrat:

HIGH SEASON by John Loomis ( St. Martin's Minotaur). Here's a change of pace--a wryly witty, tense and suspenseful mystery set in the great resort town of Provincetown, on Cape Cod. The hero is an emotionally scarred former big-city homicide detective now working this quiet small town because he's plagued by panic attacks and nightmares. This is a first novel, and very promising of a sort of Robert Parker or Elmore Leonard career--laconic and smart, with moments of shocking violence and moments of thoughtful and wise observation.


The Democrat is located in Callicoon, New York, which appears to be in Catskill territory, along the PA border. Next time I'm out that way, I'd like to stop and buy Dr. Ernsberger a beer.

Amazon

Current sales rank: #20,713 in books. I announced at poker the other night (after a large martini) that those Amazon sales numbers rank all Amazon merchandise together: books, electric shavers, snow-shoes, you name it. That was obviously wrong, though it generated an interesting discussion. Still, the current number ain't bad, and it seems to generally be trending downward.

Currently #81 overall in Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals, and that ain't bad, either. Currently #15 in bestselling new & future releases in Police Procedurals, updated hourly.

Amazon's weird and dangerous for obsessives like me, mostly because of its frequently updated sales feedback. It's very mysterious, too—the numbers seem to be all over the map, veering from 250,000-something, say, to 50,000 in under twelve hours. There's also the business of reader reviews, which are fine and democratic in theory, though one worries a bit about the handful of compulsives who instantly post reviews of thousands of books every year, the moment Amazon releases them. But hey, whatever floats they boat.

9.24.2007

I hate my shirt.

It's got spandex in it. Blargh.

9.20.2007

Washington Post Book World to review High Season

Sunday, Sept. 30. Somebody get me a martini and a Xanax.

9.19.2007

Her Infinite Harshness Reviews HIGH SEASON

"I didn't get much sleep last night and I blame your goddamned book."

Then she compared it to Harry Potter. Not sure how I feel about that.

9.18.2007

HIGH SEASON officially released!

So, do I look any different?

Am I walking funny?

Current Amazon.com sales rank: #65,596

Okay, I'll stop checking every three minutes.

Update: regarding sales ranks: anything under a hundred large seems pretty good to me. Compare HS's 65,596 to my two books of poetry, at 1,659,446 and 1,889,237.

9.14.2007

Houseophrenia

The kitchen cabinets arrived yesterday, apparently, all wrapped in brown paper. They're stacked up in the living room. Bruce has to come finish the kitchen wiring before Jim and Mike can do the drywalling and Joe can do the drywall finishing and Dave can install the cabinets. We're also waiting for Bruce to wire in a 220 outlet in the upstairs bath/laundry room. So where the hell is Bruce? Nobody knows.

Meanwhile, the floor guys appear to be donw with the screen porch, finally, Dan's almost done on the 3rd floor (he swears he can wrap it up today, which means next week sometime), and the front entryway is framed in. Windows will arrive in two weeks, door/sidelights/ transom in something like six weeks. Ack. But in the meantime, much of the interior work on the entryway can get done.

It's going to be a great house, but not before November.

We're #44!

On Amazon's list of bestselling new & future releases in Police Procedurals. A couple of days ago it got as high as #25. Somebody's buying it, apparently.

Weird.

My book's for sale at walmart.com.

I'm guessing no one there has actually read it. Nice while it lasts.