Peer props

A hearty thank you to Wes Hughes, my colleague at the Sun, for mentioning "Planet Gemini" in his column on May 2. I didn't even ask him for the favor. How's that for good karma?

You can check out the column here.

I should have discounted copies of "Fertile Earth" shortly, so if you're looking for a price break, it's coming your way.

The short getaway in Big Bear Lake was nice. I managed to get about 12 pages done for the new novel. Writing on vacation is a little more difficult than I imagined, mainly because the last thing you want to do on a break is more work. But these books are actually a lot of fun. Sometimes it's difficult to decide which is more fun, taking a kayak on a massive lake or sitting in front of a fire, trying to scribble down the elements of a ghostly encounter. Decisions, decisions.

Starting Part II, and other odds and ends

The first chapter of Planet Gemini II is done. I'm not sure what the title of the new book should be. In hindsight, I probably should've had a subtitle for the first part, but it's too late for that now. Anyway, just for a sneak peak, the book opens with a prologue, something to bring people up to speed in case they haven't read the first installment, and then it moves to Chicago, where we meet a new character. Her name is Minerva, a 17-year-old college student with serious anger-management issues. It's been quite fun developing her character.

Also, The San Bernardino Sun is talking about doing a profile on me, which really makes me feel embarrassed. But maybe it'll help book sales. In conjunction with this, I'm working on a trend piece about the rise in the print-on-demand and self-publishing market. It's good to know at least something isn't suffering in these economic times.

Finally, this month I will have the misfortune of losing my bass player, Paul, who has been in Sachi for eight years. It's been an interesting ride. Paul's a talented guy, with eccentric sensibilities, but that's why he was such a great part of the band. I hope marriage, and Ohio, works out for him. I will be sure to give a hearty "told you so" when it's about 80 degrees here in the winter and he's putting heating blankets on his car radiator. Heh. Just kidding Paul.

Planet Gemini on Amazon.com

Planet Gemini is now available for order on Amazon.com. If you pick up a copy, please return to the site and post a book review. Any help, feedback, props, would be greatly appreciated!

It's also on Barnes and Noble.com

Release date announced

Well, it's coming down to the wire. Final proofs went out and the cover design came in. The official release date for "Planet Gemini" is March 1, 2009. But the book is currently available on Publish America's website.

(Updated 1/12/09 with direct link to PA store page).