Indeed they do! I’ve had quite the July.

On 7/18/24, I received a box of first editions of my second book! (That’s one.) The same day friends who had pre-ordered it, received theirs! (That’s two.) Oh. My. God. This book is really happening.

Yes! Not only that—I met my deadline. I am amazed.

You know what’s weird? I can’t remember writing it. Wait, that’s not accurate. I do remember the experience of writing it.

I was invited—out of the blue— to write an academic book by W. W. Norton, a publisher of books essential to the practice of psychiatry and neurology.  I’ve been writing and practicing psychiatry for decades in obscurity and felt like a long-time actor might feel who gets “discovered overnight”— Disbelieving. Thrilled. Validated.

Thinking through how it happened makes me believe that you, too, can write an article that leads to a book deal.

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists: Organization for writers of serial essay, including columnists and bloggers, in any medium awarded me a third place in the General Interest: Online category of their 2022 contest. I am so delighted!

When I submitted two 2021 posts from this blog, I wasn’t fully aware of the level of competition.

I wrote this piece years ago, when Donald Westlake was my favorite author. (Today, he is one of my favorites.) I admit that reposting it now carries a whiff of nostalgia—COVID has changed my shopping habits. I shop less, and go during off hours so as to spend the least time with the most social distance. That protects my health, of course. But it sacrifices the fun of eavesdropping. I miss that.

Enjoy this brief hop back to a COVID-free holiday season, and the excerpt from one of Westlake’s best, Bad News, featuring Dortmunder, and the regulars at the OJ.

Finished! What a slog. 42 boxes! At about 45 books a box that’s a staggering 1,890 books liberated from my library’s bookshelves. As I filled box after box with increasing weariness, what kept me going

I was doing great letting go—releasing books into boxes then sending them on their way to loving new homes—despite a strong urge to cling. Hoarding is selfish. Books need to circulate and be read. But after folding closed the 36th box (at 45 books a box, about 1600 books), I hit the wall.