So, back from the Florida Keys, and it must agree with me. Wrote half a novel there, a young adult novel titled ALL THE EARTH THROWN TO THE SKY, and I must admit, I like it a lot. Spend this week so far still on a role, and should finish shortly, then time to revise. Sold a few short stories, and have had a number come out. Oddly, most of them are reprints, and three or four of them are in zombie anthologies. THE NEW DEAD has a new piece of mine, and I seem to be the only one in the book out of step, but Chris Golden, the fine editor of the book, asked originally that the stories be about how people dealth with death, and need not be zombie stories. I thought, good, I don't want to write a zombie story. The result is SHOOTING POOL, which deals with the idea of emotinal zombiism, but not the living dead, least not in the strictest meaning of the words.

Anyway, I'm fond of it. Also a story about Hap Collins when he was a teen ager appeared in THE BLEEDING EDGE, edited by Jason Brock and William F. Nolan. It's loosely based on a true incidents that happened when I was in higschool, and the rest of it is speculati0n. Leonard does not appear, but it's the third short story featuring Hap Collins.

Seem to be moving in new directions as a writer, once again. Have gone back to doing horror stories, and some crime short stories, and there is a new Hap and Leonard novel forthcoming from KNOPF next year titled DEVIL RED. and the Young Adult novel will be out from Delacorte then if all goes well and they like it. I know I do. I've always loved the genre. Will be doing a screenplay later in the year based on one of my novels, and so many projects after that I can't keep count.

It's my ambition to be in better contact through the blog, and now I'm on FACE BOOK. I've been behind there too, but I hope to catch up shortly, and forgive me ny tardiness. Joe