This is hysterical!

http://www.seastoriesbypaulgarrison.com/penname.html

We look forward to hearing more from Justin Scott (Hardscapes, Nine Dragons and The Turning), Paul Garrison (Buried at Sea, Red Sky at Morning, The Ripple Effect and Sea Hunter), Alexander Cole and Ben Abbott!

Dear Friends,

Booksellers often boast of the authors they can call “friends,”  and I must confess that even VJ Books is presumptive enough to refer to a writer or two with that familiarity.  Rare is the bookseller though who turns the world upside down and is labeled as friend by the authors.  This is indeed Dennis McMillan.

The latest installment in James Patterson’s series for our younger audiences is now available to order.  Check it out!

Comfortable in their new safe house, Max and the rest of the Flock finally begin to feel optimistic about their newly-gained freedom. Then the Machine Geeks appear–part machine, part human, totally destructive. They are in the service of an ominous Mr. Chu, who has his eyes on the Flock and their unique abilities. And if he can’t have them, he’ll make sure nobody else can either!

Patterson is the author of novels–from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)–that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, and the International Thriller of the Year award.

Laura Lippman’s latest look at her local Baltimore is ready to order.

Writer Cassandra Fallows achieved critical and commercial success with an account of her Baltimore childhood growing up in the 1960s and a follow-up dealing with her adult marriages and affairs. The merely modest success of her debut novel leads her back to nonfiction and the possibility of a book about grade school classmate Calliope Jenkins. Accused of murdering her infant son, Jenkins spent seven years in prison steadfastly declining to answer any questions about the disappearance and presumed death of her son. Fallows tries to reconnect with three former classmate friends  to compare memories of Jenkins and research her story.

Offering a refreshing reprieve from a slew of mysteries set in New York, Florida, and L.A., Lippman’s novels paint a vivid picture of her beloved Baltimore.  Let’s take a look at what she has to say about it.

“Dear John,

“What’s the best way to care for my first editions and signed firsts?  I don’t particularly want to put them in boxes and store them on a pallet in a climate controlled storage facility, but at the same time I want to minimize fading, bumping and dust that settles into the edges of the pages. (Andy, VA)

John responds. . .

I assume you are one of those people who buys a signed first edition for their collection and then picks up a reading copy at Costco, or better yet, waits for a paperback to show up at the Goodwill.  No insult intended - I’m one of those people.  For (non-antiquarian) collectible books I recommend:

1.  Jackets should be covered in acid-free book jacket covers.
2.  Books should stand up-right on a book shelf, so as not to create a slant of the spine.
3.  Books should be kept out of direct sunlight, where air can circulate freely.
4.  Store them away from windows and don’t put them on shelves against outside walls.
5.  Store them on flat, smooth shelves that are strong enough to support their weight.
6.  Books should not be in contact with unsealed wood because it can release damaging acidic vapors.  Line shelves with acid free boards if necessary to prevent this problem.
7.  Use bookends to keep the books from falling over, and be sure they are high enough to support the books completely.
8.  Avoid storing books in an attic or basement because attics get too hot and basements get too damp.  Both are also subject to rapid changes in temperature and humidity levels.  Keep books out from under plumbing and water pipes; water damage from these sources is all too common.
9.  You can also consider custom-fitted archival boxes made from high-quality materials.
 
Good reading!

John

Dear John,

I would appreciate it if you could clear up something for me regarding James Rollins‘ early books. I first became aware of James Rollins with your offering of Map of Bones. I enjoyed it so much I immediately began searching for his earlier works. Being a collector, I naturally wanted signed first editions whenever possible. I had minimal difficulty locating Sandstorm, Ice Hunt, then Amazonia. However, at that point the search became a little fuzzy. There are still three early books I don’t yet have, Subterranean, Excavation, and Deep Fathom. It appears that these three were paperback originals. Is this true? Have any of the three ever been released in hardcover? Thanks to VJBooks it has been easy to acquire Mr. Rollins’ subsequent books, but these first three continue to elude me.  (Judy, Texas)

John responds….

Yes, Subterranean, Excavation, and Deep Fathom were originally released in paperback, and they have not been released in hardcover edition.

You might also want to seek out science fiction books written by Rollins under the name of James Clemens.  Good reading!

See all James Rollins titles at www.vjbooks.com

(from a customer)

 “Dear John, I recently acquired an autographed copy of Dark Watch by Clive Cussler, but it was inscribed to the original owner. I know that inscribed books are usually worth much less than a regular autograph, but is there any sort of exception to this rule?” (Will, Portland)

(December 2008 Newsletter PNBA.org )

Take a moment to join me in an interesting bit of cost analysis. If you buy a movie ticket (and popcorn and drink), you could easily spend $20 for two hours of entertainment, which breaks down to $10 per hour. If you buy an ice cream cone, you COULD spend $5.00 for 15 minutes of fun . . . $20 per hour. A dinner out could average $12.50 to $25 per hour. A night at a football game (with beers & popcorn) could cost $200, or about $64 per hour.

HOWEVER! If you buy a hardcover book for $28.00, and it takes you six hours to read it, that’s $4.66 per hour of entertainment . . . and then you can pass it on to a friend ($2.33 per hour of enjoyment), and another friend or two or three (.58 per hour). . . and then you can get it back and put it on your shelf where it will look attractive for years, and you can remember what you learned and/or the fun you had reading it . . . Books are the best and most lasting entertainment value out there!

(marketwatch.com, Nov 20)

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) has announced that the organization will name James Lee Burke and Sue Grafton its 2009 Grand Masters in honor of the Bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth next year. Not since 1978 has the organization presented dual Grand Masters.

MWA’s Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery genre and was established to acknowledge important contributions to the genre, as well as significant output of consistently high-quality material. The awards will be presented at the 63rd Annual Edgar(R) Awards banquet on Thursday April 30, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

According to MWA executive vice president Harry Hunsicker, the Edgar Awards — or “Edgars,” as they are commonly known — are named after Edgar Allan Poe, whose 200th birthday will be marked next year. “One of the great pleasures of my tenure at the helm of MWA has been informing two of the most talented writers on the planet that they have been selected as (more…)