Hot New Thriller

Hey there, all, it's been forever yet again.

And now for a gratuitous advertisement. But I think a lot of people who have found me in the past would be interested. I work for St. Martin's Press. We were the original publishers of The Silence of the Lambs years ago. People around here still remember the buzz about it before it came out. Well, we have a new discovery in the serial killer novel. If you remember Hannibal Lechter, you'll love Gretchen Lowell in HEARTSICK, the hot new debut novel from author Chelsea Cain.

And for those of you who found me here for writing exercise, if you are also on myspace, you can become friends with Gretchen Lowell. And she has a nice little writing exercise request for you on her comments section.

Gretchen's mantra is, "Love hurts. Sometimes it's torture." If you become her friend, she asks you to write a little poem using those words in it. You can find her at:

www.myspace.com/gretchenlowell

Have fun! And when it comes out this fall, find HEARTSICK in your local bookstore. It's creepy fun!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

On Saturday I'm off with Julie and our son Parker on a cruise on the Norwegian Dawn with R Family Vacations. I'll report in after our return and hopefully get some good pix.

Cutest Picture Ever

He's very photogenic. Even if I'm in the picture with him:

ALMOST A YEAR!?!

Have I really gone a year without posting a thing to this site? I'm so remiss.

Where did I leave off! Well, I know many of you found me through the Tiny Stories project, and we had so much fun with it. Lisa and I had some hopes for it that did not pan out, but we love the format of the story and keep thinking about ways to do something fun with it.

If we ever do, we certainly will come back to any of you that submitted stories and see if you'd still be interested to be included into a project.

In any event, so much to do, so little time. I will try to be back on here more often, posting my inane thoughts and comments and coming up with other things for us all to do together. Here's a thought for you:

Shortest poem ever:

I.
Why?

Let Me Make This Clear...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fagblogger Po and his friend Jill Potts want to be clear: they are not straight.

In the August issue of AP, the Asbury Park Magazine, the local personality explains that some people misunderstand his close friendship with Potts.

"I understand why people think we're straight," she says. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between people. So I get why people have to label it -- how can you be this close without it being sexual?"

In a long article, Po, 39, and Potts converse about their 30 years of friendship and "four-times-a-day text messages."

The two friends say they would have no problem telling the public if they were in a sexual relationship.

"The truth is, if we were straight, we would tell you, because there's nothing wrong with being straight," says Potts.

Says Po: "Something about this relationship feels otherworldly to me, like it was designed by a power and a hand greater than my own. Whatever this friendship is, it's been a very fun ride."

An Interesting Description

I just said this about someone. Perhaps you know what I mean. Perhaps you know someone just like the guy I was describing:

"Sure, he's brilliant. But he's brilliant in his own little world."

A Little Change in My Pocket?

Am I the only one that thinks the new $10 bill looks like somebody spilled their coffee on it? Every time I pull one of my pocket, I think it might still be wet.