In Duluth

We've been in Duluth for the past several days as I scout out locations for the fifth Stride book.  We were out in the rural countryside at a deserted cemetery between Duluth and Grand Rapids, and at one point, a police officer in a cruiser was eyeing us suspiciously.  I'm not just if it would have made it better or worse to explain who I was!

I've had several e-mails recently from retired police officers and federal agents here and abroad.  It's always a particular pleasure to hear from readers who have served in law enforcement.  They tend to have high standards for crime fiction -- not surprisingly -- and their praise means a lot to me.  Of course, I'm not trying to write "police procedural" stories like, say, Michael Connelly.  My books are psychological suspense, focused on the emotions, secrets, and sexuality of the characters.

I have a book club across the harbor tonight in Superior, Wisconsin.  (For any of you near Bloomer, note that the event scheduled there for this afternoon has been cancelled, because the store closed its doors last month.)  Tomorrow it's back along the highway to Grand Rapids, to scout out more settings for book five.  I want the settings in my books to be as much characters as the people are, so authenticity of place is very important to me.

So to any police on Highway 2, don't worry about that Silver Rav and the guy with the camera and the voice recorder.  It's just me.

Fresh Fiction

When I did a signing event for STALKED in Dallas, I had the opportunity to meet one of the editors of Fresh Fiction, an online readers site that provides reviews, blogs, contests, and other book information for tens of thousands of book lovers.  You can check it out at the link above.

I was delighted to get an e-mail today informing me that STALKED has been selected as the site's "Fresh Pick" for Saturday, May 10.  That means the book will be highlighted on every page of the site throughout the day and will be featured in the newsletter sent to their subscribers.  So if you have an opportunity, swing by the Fresh Fiction site on Saturday.

I had three book clubs last week -- one at a Barnes & Noble store in Maple Grove and one in the rural town of Spring Grove, Minnesota.  (It was a Grove-heavy week.)  Spring Grove is located in the gorgeous bluff country of southeastern Minnesota, which makes for a stunning drive, particularly if your GPS navigator takes you (inadvertently) on the "scenic route."  And the third book club?  Well, I almost missed it.  I simply forgot the Friday club until my Blackberry started flashing a reminder, at which point I dashed across town through the pouring rain.  If they thought I looked more like a serial killer than an author, they were kind enough not to say so.

Overseas

The coming months will mark the arrival of several translation editions of my books.  In Germany, STALKED was released last month by Der Club under the title SCHMUTZIGE GEHEIMNISSE (or DIRTY SECRETS).  I've inserted the cover image here.  In keeping an eye on the Der Club web site, I've been pleased to see that DIRTY SECRETS has been in the Club Top 10 for several weeks.

This month, DE STALKER also arrives in the Netherlands.  My publisher was kind enough to make a handful of advance copies available, so that we were able to give away a few copies at the Ezzulia gathering in Utrecht.  One of the winners already reported back to me how much she enjoyed the book -- and she sent along this picture to prove it!

In Italy, STALKED arrives in July under the title LA DANZA DELLE FALENE (or THE MOTH'S DANCE), with a cover similar to the STALKED cover used in the UK, with a butterfly hovering around a lightbulb.  The Italian edition will feature a "bellyband" with an endorsement quote from Italy's top crime writer, the wonderful Giorgio Faletti.  Look for Giorgio's book I KILL in US bookstores this summer.  Meanwhile, the Italian book club Mondolibri has just released their edition of STRIPPED under the title LAS VEGAS BABY.

That's also the title for the French edition of STRIPPED, which hits bookstores in France later this month.   Spanish and Swedish editions of STALKED will follow in September.

Of course, I get copies of all these editions, which reminds me of a quote from Thoreau, who told a friend that he had built a library of nearly 900 volumes, 700 of which he had written himself!

Stride Cottage

Now that we're home from touring here and abroad, it's time to begin in earnest on the fifth Stride novel.  The fourth is done and is due out in the UK in September and in the US next February.  We're still working on the title.

We'll be in Duluth for a week in May scouting out settings for the fifth book.  I like to visit locations the way a film director might, in order to make the places in the book crackle with authenticity.  Once again, we'll be at the "Stride Cottage" -- a lovely rental cottage out on the Point in Duluth that served as the inspiration for Stride's home in STALKED.  (You can see photos and more at www.cottageonthepoint.com.)

Stride and Serena are in northern Minnesota in book five, but not necessarily at home, thanks to events in book four....ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.  You'll have to wait to see what happens.

The Eagle Has Landed

Well, almost.

Tuesday we head home from Amsterdam to Minnesota, where we have six or seven months without major travel scheduled.  That's the time where I'll do the major work on the fifth Stride book.  The fourth, of course, is already done, and you can look for it in the UK in September and in US stores next February.

We had another successful visit to the London Book Fair and are in the midst of reader events and publicity interviews in Amsterdam.  On Saturday, we traveled to the Dutch town of Utrecht for a meeting of readers involved in the Ezzulia forum (www.ezzulia.nl).  I've mentioned in the past what a great site this is for Dutch readers, and fortunately, they write and speak such good English that I've been able to participate on the forum for several months.

I was very proud to be the "mystery guest" at their reader gathering, and Marcia and I spent several hours in Utrecht with a delightful group of several dozen Ezzulia readers and Dutch authors.  I should be able to post some photos soon, and I'll provide a link to any coverage of the event on the Ezzulia web site.  Many, many thanks to the organizers, Lenie and Connie, who provided such warm and gracious hospitality to the two of us, and to Dutch writers such as Loes and Marelle who were kind enough to allow me to share the stage with them.

We made it back to Amsterdam close to midnight and wandered through the busy Saturday night streets on our way to the hotel.  To be here amid the canals and gables is a reminder of the extraordinary experiences this life has made possible.  We've met some great people and gone to some unforgettable places.

But it will be good to be home.

Sixty Seconds

As we head off to London for our fourth annual excursion to the London Book Fair, I thought you might enjoy a Sixty Second interview with me that was just published by Reviewing the Evidence, a well known UK crime fiction web site.  You can link to the interview by clicking here.

People are also getting STALKED all over the world.  If you want to know what the leading newspaper in Malaysia says about the book (in English), just click here.

We had a successful event at The Poisoned Pen in Phoenix last week -- the last official event of our U.S. tour.  Barbara Peters, the owner of the store and one of the most distinguished editors in crime fiction circles, was the host for me and author John McEvoy, author of a mystery series set in the horse racing world.  Many thanks to the Arizona fans who joined me there.

I'll try to check in from London (our favorite city in the world).

Last Stop

We're back home after a thoroughly entertaining weekend at the ninth annual Books in the Woods program on the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian border.  I joined about 30 readers for multiple discussions throughout the program, in a beautiful setting overflowing with deer and foxes.  I was one of two featured authors, along with Mary Relindes Ellis, author of The Turtle Warrior.  The only downside -- no cell phone or Blackberry service...talk about going through withdrawal!

These readers could definitely see me coming.  (Wait, let me re-phrase that.)  A group of them -- whom Marcia and I dubbed the Erotic Sisters Book Club -- gave me a stack of erotica books for my birthday as "inspiration" for future scenes with Stride and Serena.  When I say these are passionate readers, I'm not kidding!

Tomorrow we head to Phoenix to visit The Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale on Wednesday evening.  That's the last official stop on our U.S. tour, other than a handful of book club appearances in the coming weeks.  It's been a long, weary road, but we've met some delightful and memorable people along the way.

From there, we head to London for the London Book Fair and meetings with my overseas publishers.  Good news -- we just sold the rights to my fourth book, UNSOLVED, to Der Club in Germany.  That's the first overseas sale of #4, hopefully with many more to come.

Oh, and by the way -- STALKED just hit #1 on the Times bestseller list.  No, that's not an April Fool's Joke.  Okay, okay, so it's the St. Cloud Times, not the New York Times.  It's still pretty cool.

90 Percent

Friday the 28th is actually my birthday, which brings me to the esteemed age of 45.  My wife and I like to joke that this means I'm half-way to 50.  Of course, my ever-practical brother points out that 45 is, in fact, 90 percent of the way to 50.  Well, isn't that just what I wanted to hear!

We'll be spending my birthday on the Canadian border at a resort called Gunflint Lodge.  There's a program over the weekend called Books in the Woods, where I'll be one of two featured authors.  So it will be us, several dozen readers, and a wilderness full of deer and moose.  I think Stride would love it.

We're nearing the end of our U.S. tour extravaganza.  I'll be in Phoenix next Wednesday, April 2, and then we're pretty much done.  However, the London Book Fair  begins shortly thereafter, so we're not quite off the travel rollercoaster.  This will be my fourth visit to the book fair, where I have a chance to meet most of my overseas publishers.  The UK publication The Bookseller, which does a daily supplement during the fair, will actually be publishing an Author's Guide to the Fair, written by yours truly.  If it appears online, I'll include a link in a future post.

Stride's Home Town

We're back in Stride's city today. The calendar may say Spring, but there's a bitter wind in Duluth off Lake Superior.

I was on Duluth radio this morning. Laura, one of the DJ's on Mix 108, is a big fan. After the radio show, Laura and I got coffee at Barnes and Noble, where the store featured a poster advertising my signing event right next to the front door. Nice.  I've got signings tonight and tomorrow in the city and another in Duluth next Sunday.

We also ventured down the Point all the way to Stride's green bench -- where Stride contemplated his future in IMMORAL. And we passed the Stride cottage (www.cottageonthepoint.com), of course. We'll be back there for a week in May as I scout settings for the fifth book.

6:00 AM

That's the time that most restaurants start serving breakfast in our home town.  It was actually about 90 minutes later than we wanted.  After several weeks on tour, in and out of town and in and out of time zones, we're at the point of not knowing what day it is or what state we're in.  So around three in the morning, we woke up, and by four-thirty, we figured we might as well go for breakfast.

Alas, we had to wait until six o'clock.  The good thing is that it's pretty easy to get a table at that time of day.

We're about to enter the driving stretch of the tour.  We have Rochester (90 minutes south) tomorrow morning, followed by Duluth (four hours north of Rochester) later the same day.  I'll be on Duluth radio Friday morning and will hopefully be awake for the experience.  We have two signings in Duluth over the weekend, then head to Des Moines (four hours south) next Tuesday and Gunflint Lodge (nine hours north of Des Moines) on Thursday.  Yes, we could have planned this all better, but that's how it worked out!

Coffee, anyone?