A TAXING SITUATION!

     WELL, THIS IS ANOTHER FINE MESS YOU’VE GOTTEN ME INTO!   Thanks to you, my nearly 4,000 faithful blog followers, my new mystery novel, MURDER ON MAIDEN LANE, has sold over 300 books this past week.  Wonderful, you say?  Have you considered the tax implications of becoming a famous author?  My accountant, Jesse James Lipschitz, tells me that I now owe the I.R.S. a substantial amount of money.  (Which is why I’m not filing a tax return this year.)  What can they do to me?  Throw me in jail?  Come to think of it, Al Capone ended up in Al-catraz!

     Please don’t worry about me or my finances.  Just keep buying as many copies of THE PRESLEY PLOT and MURDER ON MAIDEN LANE as you can afford.  I’ll worry about the tax thing after I’m caught, I mean, after the books are bought.  By the way, did you know that Al Capone only dated bank tellers?  That’s where we get the term “safe sex.”  (Jeez, that joke should be “barred!”)

     Incidentally, the new book (Murder on Maiden Lane) came out just beautiful.  It’s much thicker than The Presley Plot and it’s printed on high quality creme-colored paper.  Aberdeen Bay did a wonderful job this time around, and there are no mistakes in the text.  (I actually proofread the book this time!)  If you need an autographed copy, just contact me and I’ll see what I can do.  (If you live in a foreign country, you can always sign it on my behalf.  Who will know?)

     What else is happening in the world?  Well, last Thursday, Barbara Talbott, a/k/a The Dragon-Slayer, won second place at the Waterloo Loose-Woman and Hopeless Hombre Poker Tournament in Austin.  I made it to the final table (what else is new?) but my “big slick” (suited ace and king) did not hold up, and I was crushed by a lousy pair of fives.  Life ain’t fair.

     I don’t know about you, but I feel sorry for those pesky North Koreans.  The New York Times reported that because of food shortages and poor nutrition, North Koreans are now, on average, two inches shorter than South Koreans!  But wait, there’s a silver lining to this story… if we wait a few years nobody in North Korea will be tall enough to reach the missile launch buttons on the console!  Speaking of short turds, did you know that Kim Jung-un has officially banned “capitalist celebrations.” including Christmas?!  Who bans Christmas?  Only a grinch.  (I read that Kim Jung-un was an ugly child.  How ugly?  During Christmas, they would hang him up and kiss the mistletoe!  (There I go with the missiles again!)  I pity his poor wife, Holly.  She has to bow whenever he enters the room.  (Surely you’ve heard of the “bows of Holly?”)  Dang, if I keep going, I might start a war!

     Due to an unexpected tooth extraction, followed by a slight case of “dry socket,” I was forced to cancel my one and only speaking engagement this past week.  (You might have seen them celebrating in Giddings.)  Nonetheless, I am now “well-healed,” and ready to resume my illustrious career as a literary diplomat!  So, look for my next missive (again with the missiles?) as it will be a good one…..

     Have a safe and happy week…  Love to all,

     Doc Yanoff

MURDER ON MAIDEN LANE!

REMEMBER THE ALAMO!  REMEMBER THE MAINE!  REMEMBER YOUR P.I.N. NUMBER!    BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY…..  REMEMBER THAT BOOK TITLE!!

Why, you might ask, should you remember a book title?  Because…. this is the title (without the exclamation point) of my new “Adam Gold Mystery,” soon to be published by the good folks at Aberdeen Bay Publishing back east.  Yes, that’s right!  Book number two is on the way!  Even as we speak, bookstores around the nation are clearing out their shelves to make room for my latest venture into the dark, underbelly of criminal enterprise!  (NO, I haven’t written a book about Washington, D.C.)  I am referring to the violent, bullet-strewn world of high risk insurance.  (Dang, I’m starting to scare myself!)   So where are we in this publishing process of ours?

Well, for the past week, I have been PROOFWEEDING my manuscript.  (Just joking, folks.)  However, this time, I intend to do my job BEFORE the book gets published.  As some of you know, I was in the jungle (NO, not Newark) when THE PRESLEY PLOT galleys were sent to me, and because I was trying to avoid headhunters and cannibals, I neglected to scrutinize each and every page.  Well, this time I stayed home, locked the doors, turned off the cell phone, and fell asleep…. but, after I awoke, I went to work and “cleaned up” the manuscript.  The cover is almost finished, and it is simple marvelous.  An eye-catching masterpiece!  A work of art!  In short, I think it will knock your socks off.  (Your shoes, too.)

The publisher recently sent me my year-end blog statistics, as published by WordPress.com.    Thanks to a fantastic group of followers (YOU!) I landed in the top 10% of all newly created blogs in 2012!  Wow, that is simply mind-boggling.  In complete seriousness, I wish to thank the 4,000 people who have taken the time to sign on to my blog this past year, and the 10,000 who have viewed a post more than once.  I am overwhelmed by the response, and wish I could personally thank each and every person!  It is, again in all seriousness, rather flattering and encouraging to a relatively new author like me.  So…..  THANK YOU!

BY THE WAY….  our blog can now be seen, and has a substantial following, in over 40 countries world-wide!  The top five countries in 2012 were….  The United States, Canada, England, France, and Australia.  (All countries I love!)  Our newest subscribers came from…..  Pakistan, Algeria, and South Korea.  (Welcome aboard!)  The “universal” mix of followers is quite interesting to me, so I thought I might share some other (non-book) statistics with you…..

IF YOU COULD FIT THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE WORLD INTO A VILLAGE CONSISTING OF 100 PEOPLE (maintaining the proportions of all the people living on Earth) THAT VILLAGE WOULD CONSIST OF……

57 ASIANS…..  21 EUROPEANS…..  14 AMERICANS (North, Central & South)…..  and 8 AFRICANS.    Isn’t that interesting?  (Now you see the importance of translating THE PRESLEY PLOT and MURDER ON MAIDEN LANE into Chinese!)  I just read somewhere that we are all part Asian.  Apparently, we have 24 useful ribs (12 on each side of the rib cage) plus one “spare rib!”  (Ouch, that hurt!)  No “bones” about it!

Speaking of ribs…. I ate at two great restaurants recently….. If you live in Austin (or come to visit) you must try SPIN Modern Thai Cuisine and THE BONNEVILLE.  The Thai restaurant has amazing dishes (but no bow-Thais) and The Bonneville has an incredible short rib dish, and many other amazing treats, as well as a terrific location in downtown Austin.  (And very interesting cocktails!)  I can heartily recommend both establishments, and I predict great things for both restaurants!  You vegans out there should try some real food!  Just remember what my grandpappy used to say…..  “Them thar health nuts are going to feel mighty stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.”    (What can I say, the man was a genius.)

Well, next Sunday I will bring you up-to-date on my progress with MURDER ON MAIDEN LANE.  I will also tell you about my upcoming expedition to the jungles of Honduras and Belize!  (Believe it or not, I’m heading back into the bush!)  Stay tuned, do not touch that internet dial, and we shall meet back here next week!  Until then, I wish you safe travels and much happiness.  Class dismissed!  Love to all,

Doc Yanoff