I'm Moving!

This is my last post from this blog location!  I've re-launched my all-new web site at www.bfreemanbooks.com, and my blog now has a new home there.  Be sure to check out the site, which includes lots of bonus content.

If you're a subscriber to my blog at this location, you'll need to re-subscribe by clicking the "Subscribe to feed" link on the Brian's Blog page at my new web site.  You can also see my posts automatically if you're a friend at my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/bfreemanbooks.

I look forward to seeing you there!  Don't forget, my new book THE BURYING PLACE arrives in U.S. stores on April 13.

Remoteness

There’s a reason why the song goes, “I’ll be home for Christmas – but only in my dreams.”

 

For many families, the holiday season is a time of distance, whether it’s parents and children living in different corners of the world, husbands and wives separated by military service, or anyone celebrating in one place while part of their heart is in another.  Marcia and I know this experience well.  My own family is more than a thousand miles away, so usually we get together at other times of the year, rather than during the crazy holiday travel season.  We also deal with remoteness in other ways as a result of the book business.  One of the great joys of my life as an author has been the opportunity to get to know people in many corners of the world – across the U.S. and in many other countries – including readers, booksellers, editors, agents, publicists, radio hosts…anyone who is passionate about books.  We’ve never met most of them face to face, and the reality is, we may never have a chance to do so.  Of course, when we get that occasional opportunity – visiting an area and finally having a chance to hug someone who has become a friend across the miles – it’s a huge blessing.

 

However, we have come to terms with the fact that little pieces of our hearts will always be spread around the world.  Even when we are home in Minnesota, we are also far from people we love.  There’s sadness in that, but also joy in knowing so many people who make the world seem a little smaller.  Remoteness may be a fact of life at the holidays and during the rest of the year, but we will continue to treasure all the relationships in our lives, wherever they may be.  To all of you who make it brighter for us – Merry Christmas and our warmest wishes for 2010.

Holiday Gifts

Christmas carols are already showing up on the radio again, and Thanksgiving is just a few days away.  At this time of year, readers often ask me about giving my books as holiday gifts.  Excellent idea -- glad you asked.

We're still a few months away from the hardcover release of THE BURYING PLACE (the much-awaited fifth Jonathan Stride novel) in the U.S., so if you have any trouble locating my first four novels (IMMORAL, STRIPPED, STALKED, and IN THE DARK) in stores, don't hesitate to place an order with your local bookseller.  There should be plenty of time for every bookstore to get them in stock.  You can also find the books with immediate availability at online retailers such as Amazon and BN.com.

What if you want signed copies with special inscriptions for your loved ones?  No problem.  There are two ways to do it.  First, you can buy the books yourself, and send them to me with return postage and instructions for any inscription you'd like.  My address is:  Brian Freeman, PO Box 25211, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55125.  I'm happy to sign books for you.  Alternatively, you can also order my books through my local mystery bookstore, Once Upon a Crime, in Minneapolis.  (612-870-3785 or onceuponacrime@earthlink.net)  Pat and Gary are happy to do mail orders and can arrange for me to sign the books for you well before the holidays.

So give your friends and relatives a thrill this year.  Happy Holidays!

Definitely an English Major

Marcia got an e-mail from one of our college friends the other day.  Meg was an English major, like me, and we shared a couple classes together.  Apparently she was cleaning out the basement -- isn't that where we all keep boxes that we haven't opened since college? -- and she found some old essays of mine.  Oh, my.

Just imagine:  "Joyce and the Artistic Consciousness," by Brian Freeman, January 18, 1984.  Or how about:  "The Emergence of the Hero," by Brian Freeman, February 14, 1984.  Or maybe some handwritten notes on a discussion of Ulysses?  I don't think Meg is going to get rich selling those on eBay.

Yes, I was definitely an English major.  Of course, that reminds me of the discussion I had with my favorite English teacher in high school.  We'd been reading all the greats from England, and I mentioned that I thought we were missing out on some of the great writers in American literature.  He laughed and told me:  "Take a weekend out for it some time."  Ouch!

A World Without Bookstores?

Here's a scary thought for authors and readers alike.  What if there were no more bookstores?

If you don't think that could ever happen, think back on a few names from the past:  Musicland.  Wherehouse.  Tower.  Virgin.  These were all huge music superstores, and with few exceptions, they're long gone.  The concept of a music-only store has all but disappeared from retail.  If consumers want music, they go to places like Best Buy, Target, or Wal-Mart, or to online sources like Amazon and iTunes.

It's not hard to imagine bookstores going the same way.  Hundreds of wonderful independent bookstores have shut their doors in the past decade.  Mall favorites like Waldenbooks and B.Dalton have largely given way to Barnes & Noble and Borders -- and those chains now struggle with flat or declining sales.  In another decade, readers -- like music lovers -- may find themselves restricted to small selections at big box retailers or wind up doing their shopping online.

Is that a problem?  After all, musicians haven't disappeared, despite the evolving retail environment.  But I do think it's a worrisome trend for writers and readers.  First, large retailers don't devote much real estate to books, so their selection is extremely limited.  If your name isn't James Patterson or Nora Roberts, you may never wind up on their shelves, which means readers will find it harder to browse and discover new writers.  Second, musicians have additional channels for reaching an audience that authors don't enjoy.  Newspapers and magazines still devote ample page space to music.  Concerts and merchandise are still big business -- and big sources of publicity and revenue.  Songs are easy to spread virally through iTunes and YouTube, unlike books, which require a much larger bloc of time to enjoy.  You could "find" Susan Boyle, for example, with a three-minute performance online that attracted millions of viewers in a few days.  Books don't generally work that way.

Authors and publishers already face turbulent economic times.  Readers don't generally stop reading in a recession -- but their behavior changes in ways that mean authors derive little or no compensation from the people who enjoy their boks.  If 50 readers buy a new hardcover, for example, the total compensation to the author is approximately $125.  If 50 readers buy a new paperback, the compensation drops to about $35.  If 50 readers check out the book from the library, the compensation drops to about $2.50.  If 50 readers go to used book stores like eBay, the compensation drops to zero.  It's easy to do the math.

The trend suggests an uncertain future in the book biz.  For those of us who love books, we need to pay close attention to the next steps in how books are bought and sold.  How will e-books change the equation, for example?  Will other retailers pick up the slack if traditional retailers disappear?  Will independent sellers make a comeback?  I don't have the answers, but one thing is true:  The industry will look very different ten years from now than it does today.  The question is whether authors and readers will like what they see.

Librarians and Speech

My letter to the editor about the American Library Association's Banned Books Week was printed in the Wall Street Journal today.  Here's what the letter said:

Mitchell Muncy thinks that the American Library Association is overreacting to attempts by “law-abiding parents” to ban books in their local libraries (Taste, September 25).  I think it’s more accurate to suggest that we don’t face a serious threat to our free speech rights today because of the vigilance among librarians in resisting such pressure.

A small example:  When I spoke at a local library last year about my novels, the librarian subsequently informed me that a resident had called to demand I be “disinvited,” because one of my books included “a reference to male genitalia.”  Egad!  Amusing?  Sure.  Harmless?  I don’t think so.  Such people hide behind “free speech,” but their real agenda is to dictate to their neighbors what they may choose to read and hear.

Fortunately, our librarians are a buffer against those would try to substitute their values and standards for our own.  For that, we owe them thanks.

So to you librarians out there -- Thanks!

Hometown Glory

This should generate some discussion.

I think of this topic because I'm in San Mateo, California, which is the hometown in which I grew up.  Tomorrow, Marcia and I head back to Minnesota, which we've called home for more than 25 years.  We've spent the last 10 days helping my parents through my Dad's knee replacement surgery.  (All went well, thanks.)

But this reflection really isn't about my hometown.  I'm thinking of the music associated with prose.  When readers ask me how I go about editing my books, I tell them that I listen to the music of the words, and that's how I create the style and flow I'm looking for.  It's also why I can't listen to the audio editions of my books.  I hear great reviews from listeners about the CD renditions, but I can't listen to someone else reading my words.  It's not how I hear it.  It's not the music in my head.

I'm trying to create a certain theme, a certain feel, with my books.  One of my favorite songs of late is by the Grammy-winning singer Adele, and it's called "Hometown Glory."  Much of it is her solo voice linked to a hypnotic piano theme.  I've spent some time thinking about why I enjoy the song so much, and I realized it's because the "sound" of that song captures the mood I'm trying to build in my books.  There's a dark, driving power to the piano and a sense of heroism and grief overlaying the music.  That's what I hope you'll find when you read one of my novels.

Check it out on iTunes.  Let me know if you agree.  Of course, you may hear a very different music.  Stride's theme is probably unique to each individual.  But there's a music to books, no doubt about it, and we all hear it based on our own experiences.

THE BURYING PLACE

U.S. readers have a few months to wait, alas, for the release of the fifth Jonathan Stride novel, THE BURYING PLACE.  Those lucky Brits can have it in their hands right now, though.  The book was released in the UK on Thursday.  You can click here to see it on Amazon in the UK.

I've already heard from several readers who have finished the book, and I've been extremely gratified by their responses.  They all talked about its shocking twists and emotional punch -- and that's exactly what I wanted with this thriller.  One reader also alerted me to a great review of THE BURYING PLACE in Friday's edition of the Daily Mail, one of Britain's largest newspapers. 

"Brian Freeman is an excellent writer and as brilliant as Harlan Coben at psychological suspense," the paper wrote.  That's definitely the message I want to see across the UK.

I'll keep you posted as we get closer to the U.S. release in the spring of 2010.  In the meantime, I'm charging along on book six.

Sneak Peek

The UK edition of the fifth Jonathan Stride novel, THE BURYING PLACE, arrives in stores on September 3.  This is great news for fans overseas, but usually causes a fair amount of consternation here at home, where U.S. readers have to wait until next April.  Just don't shoot the messenger, or in this case, the writer.  For more information on the UK edition, click here.

I'm trying to make one lucky U.S. fan a little happier, though.  On September 4, I'm going to conduct a drawing among fans on my official Facebook fan page, and I'll be giving away a signed copy of the UK edition of THE BURYING PLACE to the winner.

To become a fan, click here to go to my Facebook fan page.

Don't confuse my Facebook FRIEND page with my FAN page.  They're different.  I'll be doing the drawing from my FAN page.  Why?  Well, for purely selfish reasons, I'm afraid.  Facebook fan pages provide writers with a lot of free publicity, because they pop up on highlights pages automatically.  The more fans you have, the more people see your page.  So I'm trying to encourage people who are already on my FRIEND page to become FANS.  As time goes on, I'll be posting exclusive content on my fan page, too, so it's worth joining my other readers there.

Don't forget to become a fan before September 4!  Good luck in the drawing!

Door County

I just got back from a week in Door County, Wisconsin, where I was scouting locales for book six.  If you've been to any of my reader events, you'll know that I try to choose scenes for the chapters much like a film director would.  I outline in such a way that I know how each chapter advances the story or the characters -- but I leave the setting open so that I can find locales that enrich the drama.  I do that by visiting the area, finding dramatic places that reinforce each scene, and taking voice notes and photographs.

Why Door County?  I wanted a setting in the Upper Midwest -- like the Stride novels -- but one with a more rural flavor, where there's tension between natives and outsiders.  Door County, which is like Cape Cod dropped into the Midwest, fits the bill perfectly.  It's a beautiful area, filled with lighthouses, deserted dirt roads, and quaint little shops -- but there's also an inherent discomfort between long-time residents and wealthy arrivals from Chicago.  That anxiety is part of the plot of book six.  I'm really excited about the story and characters and can't wait to share them with you.

While I was there, I also visited the lovely Novel Ideas bookstore in Baileys Harbor, which is run by Michelle, an alumna of Anderson's bookstore in Naperville, Illinois.  (Yes, another of those former Chicagoans!)  I'll be calling into Michelle's book club in October, when they read IMMORAL.

Meanwhile, UK fans are counting down toward the release of the fifth Stride novel, THE BURYING PLACE, in September.  (I know, I know, it's a long wait until the US release in April.)  One clever reader managed to get her hands on an advance reader copy from the UK and wrote to tell me it was the best book yet.  That's what I like to hear.