Today while I was getting my steps (19,800 miles and counting!) I was thinking about the brothers Karamazov. Not the ones in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s book, but the Flying Karamazov Brothers—a juggling and comedy act that’s been on the road since 1973.

In the late seventies or early eighties, the kids and I went to see one of their live performances at Act Theater on Queen Hill. Members of the audience were encouraged to bring along items for the jugglers to juggle. That day someone actually showed up with a power saw—which they did indeed juggle.

At the moment, I’m something of a juggler, too, but instead of dealing with saws or bowling pins, I’m involved in a juggling act of the literary variety. I’m doing interviews in advance of the September 30 release of The Girl From Devil’s Lake, a Joanna Brady book I wrote a year and a half ago. Any moment now, I’ll be receiving the editorial letter on Smoke and Mirrors, the Ali Reynolds I just finished writing. I’m also starting work on Beaumont #27, a book which may or may not end up being called Fool’s Errand.

Sad to say, this time around we’re not doing bookmarks. Demand for those have fallen off, so taking a pass.

You’ll notice that there’s been a serious reduction in the number of live events, but the ones I do have are posted on the Schedule page of my website, including a FaceBook Live interview from the Poisoned Pen at 5 PM on October 1. This time I trust the event will proceed without the benefit of dealing with a terrible dust storm.

As I mentioned above, The Girl From Devil’s Lake doesn’t actually go on sale until September 30th. However copies will be for sale at the grand opening of the new Barnes and Noble in Puyallup on September 24th. The ribbon cutting is due to occur at 10:00 AM. I won’t be doing a presentation, but I’ll be there from 10:00 to 12:00 signing copies for my determined, early-bird fans.

Signed copies are available from Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale (480) 947-2974. For signed and personalized copies, please contact Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond, Washington: info@brickandmortarbooks.com. You can also call them at 425-869-0606.

When readers open the book to the first page, they may be surprised to find themselves in Fertile, Minnesota, in 1956 rather than in Joanna Brady’s southern Arizona neck of the woods. Hang in there. Joanna will show up by the time Chapter 1 rolls around.

Happy Trails,

JAJ