October, 2002
1. The Next Book. One of these days, I'm going to write a book called The Next Book. Until that day, however, TNB is simply a stand-in; I'm not fond of working titles, since they tend to lock in. Anyhow, I had started work on a novel--a non-Nebraska novel--about two years ago: making notes, thinking deep thoughts, etc. I ended up having to set it aside when my most recent book, South Dakota: The Face of the Future (see below), became too time-consuming. (And the publisher became too antsy about deadlines, but that's another story.) Those who know me also know that I don't like to talk about works in progress, but I will say that TNB is a mystery/thriller novel, with a touch of humor, and even a little soupçon of the supernatural. When will it be finished? Who knows! I had no sooner started the "real" writing (the actual drafting, as opposed to endless note-making and deep-thought thinking) when the phone rang and I found myself pressed into service at Southeast Technical Institute, where I taught for several years during a period of time that I like to call the Nineties. A helping-out-for-a-few-weeks gig evolved into teaching a class in marketing (!)--part-time only, but it does tend to slow down other undertakings. On the plus side, their checks have never bounced, which is more than can be said for some publishers.
Meanwhile, another opportunity arose, a position with the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as Communications Secretary and Publications Editor. I head up three publications for the synod, handle web-page content, and one or two other odds and ends. It's fun to be back in the editor's slot again after all these years--although, in a small organization, "editor" also means art director, head writer, photographer, and mailroom guy.
2. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing. This fat paperback from Writer's Digest Books will be out yet this fall. I have in it a chapter on writing suspense. Since I'm not a "star," I don't get my name on the cover, but I'm in among all the fine print on the copyright page.
3. South Dakota: The Face of the Future. First the Good News: This project, a big colorful coffee-table type of thing, turned out really well. I've received a lot of good comments on it, and I think the publisher did a bang-up job production-wise. Now the bad news: Despite having breathed a lot of fire about dire consequences unto yours truly should he blow the deadline and cause the publisher to miss "the Christmas market," the publisher has been curiously ambivalent about actually getting the book into bookstores in any concerted fashion. (Oh, I should mention: The Christmas in question was Christmas 1999.) Since I receive no roylaties on the project, I suppose it doesn't matter to me whether they sell ten or ten thousand copies. On the other hand, it's annoying to spend a year of your life on a project that few will see. So I've been making the book avilable directly--both via this page and via putting the arm on friends and associates--nd have actually sold quite a few copies. Thanks to all who've been so supportive; click here for more information.
4. Cat Crimes Lives Again: So I go to my mail box one day and here's a package from my friend Martin H. Greenberg. I open it (Marty has never yet been known to send anyone a letter-bomb), and find an audio book copy of Cat Crimes, the anthology--edited by Greenberg and Ed Gorman--for which I wrote "Blindsided" a few years ago. That story is, of course, included on the tapes, which were produced by Durkin Hayes Publishing Ltd., 1-800-962-5200. Nine hours running time, so I hope you have a long commute.
5. Centered on Caring: Yet another book that few of you will ever see. (Actually, a lot of my stuff these past eighteen years has appeared in specialized publications that few "outsiders" ever read.) It's a corporate job, as I do from time to time, this one a "coffeetable book" for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in commemoration of its seventy-fifth anniversary. The Good Samaritan Society plans to restrict distribution to members of its board, so unless you happen to (a) be a member of the board; (b) be on good terms with a member, or (c) have a Lutheran pastor as a next-door neighbor, the odds are not good that you will be able to add this volume to your collection. So why do I mention it? To illustrate that even when there's been a gap between bookstore books, I haven't been completely indolent!
6. "The Lost Boys"-Item One: This short story--and one that happens to feature Nebraska--is one that I wrote for the anthology The Mysterious West, edited by Tony Hillerman and Martin H. Greenberg. It's been republished in a new anthology, The Fifth Grave (faithful readers of this page will note that the working title had been Death in the Heartland), edited by Greenberg and Billie Sue Mosiman. It's from Rutledge Hill Press, 211 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219; ISBN 1-55853-574-8
7. "The Lost Boys"-Item Two: HarperCollins re-published The Mysterious West in paperback awhile back, which put it on the racks in airports and supermarkets--you know, the places where people really buy books. ("The Lost Boys" starts on page 205 of the paperback edition--so now you're spared all the drudgery of turning to the table of contents when you buy the book.) ISBN 0-06-109262-2. $6.50.
8. "An Afternoon in the Country": My latest for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, which I notice turned into Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine when I wasn't looking. Nothing to do with Nebraska, I'm afraid--although this short story does take place on a farm which could be in my home state of Nebraska. This appeared in the February 1997 issue.
9. DRIVE-BY. The sixth Nebraska novel, in which Nebraska and his friend and fellow sleuth Elmo Lammers investigate the random (?) slaying of a young man, is still available at better bookstores, although the worser ones have dumped it unceremoniously from the shelves in order to make room for new Dilbert books or something. If you or your bookseller is having trouble finding DRIVE-BY, e-mail me and we'll get you taken care of. Meanwhile, click here to read the first chapter of DRIVE-BY; or here to visit the publisher's web page. The vital statistics: DRIVE-BY. A Nebraska novel. By William J. Reynolds. Ex Machina Publishing: 1995. ISBN 0-944287-14-X. $15.95.