And here’s an example of what can happen when writers get WAY too stressed.

The U.S. paperback of THE KEEPSAKE (same book, different title) goes on sale in the U.S. on August 25.

If you missed the hardcover, here’s another chance to read the tale!

I’m heading off to a forensic medicine conference. It’s a chance to get away from the internet, the telephone, and the writing.

For those who want to learn more about the business of publishing, I highly recommend the blog “Pimp Your Novel,” which I’ve linked to on my blog roll. Even though I’ve been in the biz for over twenty years, I find that site chock full of information I didn’t know. Check it out!

But mostly, it’s because I’ve developed a fear of blogging.

Columnist Michael Kinsley, who writes frequently about online journalism, recently wrote: “The more concerned you are to avoid saying anything wrong or offensive, the less likely you are to say anything inspiring or true.” I’ve been thinking about that statement a lot lately. And remembering how some of my past blog posts were received.

Over the past year or so, other bloggers have called me a “fucktard,” a “fuckwit”, a “drama queen,” and a “whiny attention whore” because of things I’ve written here. As a result, I found myself editing and re-editing my posts until I was sure they couldn’t possibly offend anyone. I’ve pared away anything even remotely controversial, shied away from any blogs having to do with book reviews, authorial angst, or publishing anxiety because those topics are just so, well, whiny and offensive.

The result? There’s hardly anything left to blog about that isn’t bland, touristy, or blatantly promotional. In other words, this blog has turned into just another marketing tool, which wasn’t how it started. Its original purpose was to reflect upon the business, good and bad, and about the writer’s life, with its ups and downs.

Some people don’t want to know how sausage is made. Others are offended by what writers think. I’m coming around to thinking that both should be kept strictly out of sight.

Now that I’ve caught your attention, I thought I’d make you look at my vacation photos:

Imagine waking up to this stunning view of the Grand Tetons every morning. This was snapped from my hotel room at Jackson Lake Lodge. If you haven’t yet been to Wyoming, I say go go go! It has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I say this as someone who’s lived in both Hawaii and Maine. I traveled to Wyoming to research my next book, and drove throughout the northwest corner of the state, from Jackson to Yellowstone to Cody to Thermopolis. (I seemed to be stalking thriller writer C.J. Box, who was on book tour there at the time. I really wanted to meet him, but only got as close as glimpsing him through a bookstore window. I didn’t want to cut in on the long, long line of his fans waiting to see him.)

Of course, I had to make the obligatory pilgrimage to Old Faithful, where we joined the crowds waiting for the spout. And I do mean crowds.

Everywhere I went, I took notes, snapped photos, and now have a much better idea of where my story (another Jane and Maura thriller) takes place.

Yeah, I know. It’s a tough, tough life being a writer. But somebody’s got to do it.

To make my visit to Jackson Hole even more thrilling, I spent the July 4 weekend attending Renaissance Weekend, otherwise known as “Revenge of the Nerds,” where I caught up with a few old friends, and met many new ones. Confidentiality’s the rule there, so I can’t talk about what went on in the sessions, but I can say that I’m very pleased indeed to see how many of our brightest new scientists are young women. The downside to the conference? After hanging out with such brilliant science and tech people, I came away (as usual after Renaissance) feeling hopelessly inadequate.

Now I’m off to Jackson Hole for 10 days, on a research trip!

Go, librarians!

Milwaukee Group Seeks Fiery Alternative to Materials Challenge
Life grows more interesting by the day for officials of the West Bend (Wis.) Community Memorial Library. After four months of grappling with an evolving challenge to young-adult materials deemed sexually explicit by area residents Ginny and Jim Maziarka, library trustees voted 9–0 June 2 to maintain the young-adult collection as is “without removing, relocating, labeling, or otherwise restricting access” to any titles. However, board members were made cognizant that same evening that another material challenge waited in the wings: Milwaukee-area citizen Robert C. Braun of the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) distributed at the meeting copies of a claim for damages he and three other plaintiffs filed April 28 with the city; the complainants seek the right to publicly burn or destroy by another means the library’s copy of Baby Be-Bop. The claim also demands $120,000 in compensatory damages ($30,000 per plaintiff) for being exposed to the book in a library display, and the resignation of West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss for “allow[ing] this book to be viewed by the public.”
The unanimous vote rejecting the Maziarkas’ challenge came after trustees heard several dozen comments for and against restricting the materials, as well as being presented with opposing petitions: 700 signatures on the petition circulated by West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, a group formed by the Maziarkas, and more than 1,000 on an anti-restriction petition from the newly formed West Bend Parents for Free Speech. Ironically, four of the trustees were denied reappointment in April as a rebuke from city council members for adhering to the library’s reconsideration process instead of complying immediately with the Maziarkas’ changing reconsideration requests. The trustees are serving until their successors are appointed.