Hello you beautiful bookworms,

 

You'll notice my emails look different. I've switched platforms, so hopefully I'm not hiding in your junk folders or causing any tech difficulties. Bear with me. 

 

I'm writing to you on the other end of The Stars Don't Lie, which will publish August 16th of next year. I'm hoping the title will stick through the marketing process, but we'll see. The manuscript still needs to go through copy edits and proofreads, but the vast bulk of my work is done. If I can stomach it, I will read through one more time in December to find any last minute opportunities to polish. 

 

What does Boo do when he finishes a book? Start another one, of course. I'm wrapping my head around the new one, When All the Lights Turn Green. I'm gonna push myself with this one, possibly play with a dual timeline and maybe even present tense. And we'll definitely have a couple of fun settings including Boston, Costa Rica, and the countryside of England. I'm off to Costa Rica next week to step into my protagonist's shoes and start her journey. This book will be so different than anything I've ever written, which is what keeps me going and hopefully keeps you reading.

 

I'll travel and research and brainstorm for the next three months before I start writing. This is such a fun part of the process, the easing into the skin of new characters, the early development of the outline, the long walks that allow my subconscious to talk to me, the even longer wine lunches with my wife where we talk about the psyche of each character and their arcs. And, of course, the reading. As Stephen King says in his powerful craft book, On Writing, an author must read in order to write well. Is that not the best part of the job? I'll definitely share with you my faves. Why not start right now? 

 

 

The Winners is the third in the Beartown trilogy. If you liked my Red Mountain series, you will adore these books. Forget that they're about hockey. You don't have to be a sports fan. These books are gorgeous, at the same time gut-wrenching and uplifting. Backman has a style of which I can't get enough. (You must start at the beginning of the trilogy, FYI.)

 

Shantaram is on my mind because Apple TV has done a superb job of bringing this story to the screen. When I read this giant tome years ago, I was floored. The kind of book that leaves a lasting impression. Don't take my word for it. Pat Conroy says "it's a work of extraordinary art, a thing of beauty." Need I say more? Definitely read the book before watching the series; both are worth your time.