This has been Junior Bender's year.

In the eight months since November, three novels detailing Junior's adventures in the underworld have been published to enthusiastic reviews and even some pretty good sales.

This is due entirely to the talent and enthusiasm of the people at Soho Crime, publishers par excellence. Amazing folks, and fun, too.

The third Junior, The Fame Thief, came out on July 2, and the fourth, Herbie's Game, is in the can, as we usually don’t say.

I should also mention that the fifth Poke Rafferty, The Fear Artist, has also had a warm, even generous reception since it escaped into the world last August, and that Poke #6, For the Dead, is also on its way.

And finally, the Twenty-One Writers Project—books about writing aimed at aspiring writers—is well underway, with Making Story: Twenty-One Writers on How They Plot out in both ebook and paperback and the second: The Usual Suspects: Twenty-One Writers on How They Create Character in the works.

I seem to be living in interesting times.