Maybe so, but this is ridiculous!  (Even by Texas standards!)  Today will be a balmy 105 degrees… and tomorrow is going to be 107 degrees!  Yikes, that’s hot!  How hot is it down here in Austin?  Well, yesterday I saw a bunch of fire ants carrying canteens!  Then I spotted a tarantula with a Kool Aid stand!  Now that’s hot!  Oh well, as Mark Twain remarked, everybody complains about the weather but nobody ever does anything about it.  I might have to go to Florida just to find some cooler temperatures!

And speaking of Florida,  I will be visiting the Sunshine State in the not-too-distant future in order to tie down the hatches on my new “Adam Gold mystery,” titled, CAPONE ISLAND.  Some of my adroit blog followers have been inquiring about the publication date, which has been pushed further down the road due to some VERY good news…  Sales of my current mystery, A RUN FOR THE MONEY, are starting to increase substantially, and my current nonfiction history book, TURBULENT TIMES, is still winning literary awards!  (More on that next week!)

Thus, my semi-brilliant publisher does not wish to “flood the market” with my books, and has suggested a short delay for CAPONE ISLAND.  As of this date, it looks like the book will be published in early 2019, aiming for the Spring book festivals and award contests.  This strategy makes perfect sense, and I’m actually pleased to get a little break from the book tour gig.

Incidentally, while we’re on the subject of CAPONE ISLAND, let me remind everyone that a good book that does well in the marketplace of literature, is not the creation of a single person.  (i.e., the author!)  There are many talented folks involved in this process, and in my case, I got very lucky.  How so?  Well, keep in mind that the book cover was designed by a super-talented artist named Elizabeth Bell Taylor.  (lil-taylor.pixels.com!)  And then, for this book, I worked with one of the best editors in the business, Ms. Sarah Weber.

A word about Sarah…  She is an Austin-based freelancer who splits her time between editing books for (soon-to-be-famous) authors and writing marketing content for small companies of all kinds.  She holds a B.A. in writing from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree in book publishing from Emerson College.  Sarah knows her stuff, and she’s efficient, reliable, and a fabulous communicator.  I enjoyed working with her, and if you know someone who needs a GREAT editor, she can be reached at the following email address:   sarahmweber.com

By the way, since I’ve mentioned the great state of Texas today, why don’t we have a little trivia contest?  (The winner will receive a $300 gift card from my publisher!)  The most correct answers, sent to this blog, wins!  (First come, first served, so don’t delay!)  Okay, here we go…

1.  What do the 3 colors of the Texas flag represent?

2.  How long is the Texas Legislature in regular session?

3.  When was the Texas Constitution adopted?

Good luck, my dear friends.  If you win today’s contest, you will receive a gift card to Target.  (Hopefully there is a store in your area!)  If not, you can sell the card on eBay.

Finally, as a writer of sorts, I feel compelled to share a some trivia about one of my “tools of the trade.”  (The pencil!)  In 1858, a stationer named Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil.  A short time later, an entrepreneur named Joseph Reckendorfer guessed that the pencil-plus-eraser would become a popular product, so he bought the patent from Lipman for $100,000.  (About $2 million in today’s dollars.)  Unfortunately for Mr. Reckendorfer (don’t you love these names?) the Supreme Court ruled in 1875 that the eraser-tipped pencil didn’t count as a legitimate invention.  The poor guy should have started production earlier, but he couldn’t “get the lead out!”  (I’d like to erase that joke!)

Well, time to say adieu.  (and “I do” have to go!)  So, have a wonderful and happy week, and we shall chat again in the near future.  Love to all,

Doc Yanoff