Gelukkig Sinterklaas!

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I’ve got about 20 folks in The Netherlands and Belgium who visit this site regularly. I just wanted to say I hope you wonderful kaaskops and frites find your shoes full of good gifts this Sunday! 

For those who don’t know, folks in the low lands celebrate Sinterklaas on the 6th of December and Sinterklaasavond (Saint Nicholas eve) the night before.  The name is a contraction of Sint (Saint) Niklaas (Nicholas). Yes, the real Santa. In America we give gifts on Christmas. But the Dutch and Belgians do gift giving on Sinterklaas. Christmas is a more religious celebration.

However, Nellie and I figure we can catch Santa coming at the first of the month AND going at the end (no need to miss any opportunity for presents), so, of course, we will be putting our shoes by the door Saturday night. Hopelijk zal Sinterklaas niet stilletjes ons huisje voorbij rijden.

The Husband by Dean Koontz

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TheHusband_DeanKoontzYou’re name is Mitch Rafferty. You’re a gardener. You have no past as a cop, spy, or Navy SEAL–you’re just a plain old petunias and begonias guy. You’re working in someone’s yard when you get a call on your cell phone. You answer. And the guy on the other end has your wife.

He tells you that you will get him two million dollars or you’ll never see her again.

You’re lost. This has to be a sick prank. You’re just a gardener. You know peat moss and mulch. You don’t have two million. Heck, you have, at the most, $11,000 in the bank. You tell him this. He tells you he knows.

Then your wife screams over the phone. The wife who you love, who makes  you whole. They let her talk. It’s not just one man. And then, just to show you that they’re serious, they kill a complete stranger who is walking a dog across the road. They shoot him in the head. You know they’re watching you. You look around and can’t see where the sniper is hiding.

You’re a gardener. They have your wife. If you go to the cops, they kill her. If you don’t deliver, they kill her. What do you do?

That’s the premise of Dean Koontz’s The Husband. I listened to this on audio book, read by Holter Graham, and, folks, I don’t think a book has gripped me like this in a very long time. And that despite some quirks in the reader’s presentation. I’m coming to respect Koontz as a writer more and more. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Go get it. Read it. Do it before they make the movie.

Yo, John and Larry do Colorado this Saturday!

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Larry and I will be in Lone Tree (South Denver) and Loveland Saturday, December 5th. Drop by and say hello, buy one of our books as a gift, or just show up with your Klingon outfit and gun.

John Brown events at Barnes & Noble

Saturday,
December 5
1 pm – 3 pm		 Meet public, discuss book, signing–Brown & Correia Loveland, CO Barnes & Noble
The Promenade Shops at Centerra
5835 Sky Pond Drive
Loveland, CO 80537
(970) 663-9473
Saturday,
December 5
5 pm – 7 pm		 Meet public, discuss book, signing–Brown & Correia Denver (Lone Tree), CO  Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
8374 South Willow Street
Lone Tree, CO   80124
(303) 706-9660

“Like Diamond Tears From Emerald Eyes” by Eric James Stone

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Take a runty warrior and a slow-witted wizard who have been contracted by a veiled bride willing to pay diamonds to anyone who would fetch an oh so precious box from the castle of a dead wizard. A castle from which no adventurers have returned. Well, except for Thogar the Mighty. Of course, he’s now Thogar the One-Armed Madman. But let’s not quibble.

At first blush you might think, whopee, another fantasy quest. But this isn’t another quest. This is an Eric James Stone quest, and it’s full of surprises.

I was fortunate enough to hear Stone read his story at CONduit this May. He takes his listener on a ride full of humor and adventure. Then, if you’re like me, he will make your heart lurch. I loved this story down to the last line which is pure poetry.

You can find it in issue 13 of Orson Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.

Servant of a Dark God Beads

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TheGroveBead_ValerieMooreYes, you read that right. Valerie Moore, an Arizonan bead maker, read the book and loved it. After coming to the Poisoned Pen signing, she was inspired with a new bead design that she calls “The Grove,” after the Grove of Hismayas.

She says, “I like when other people’s work speaks to me and I can release it in my form of art (which happens often enough through books or music). . . The Grove is a design, inspired by your work, made from polymer clay and 22k gold. The colors and design evoke a sense of depth, much like The Grove in Servant of A Dark God. It runs deep and true; like a network of roots. Earthy, deep and calm is what they “feel” like to me. The gold glints out like the sparkling of a soul, pure and shining and as yet untarnished. And in a way, think of the dragonfly “zinging” around. 😉 It must have gotten some funny cookies to eat.”

I say “hear, hear!” to funny cookies! I’m so stoked my story inspired her. I think the beads look great. More importantly, so do my girls, who are true bead heads (we dropped $50 on Black Friday at a bead shop, ack!). Check it out. If you want some for yourself, you can get them online.