Many of you may have noticed the news that Amazon marked a milestone in the last three months: For the first time, sales of e-books for its Kindle device outpaced sales of hardcovers. Choices in e-reading devices are expanding, too: Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony E-Reader, Kobo, and many more to come.

Lots of readers are asking me at book events: What does the e-book trend mean for authors? Good question. The answer is: No one really knows yet. Even so, the trend is unstoppable, and e-books are poised to play a larger and larger role in the publishing marketplace in coming years. Some analysts think e-books could constitute a third or more of book sales in just a few years. That's a massive change that will turn the publishing and bookselling worlds upside down.

Why does this matter to authors? Well, first some numbers. Authors generally rely on hardcover sales today to make a living. However, authors make a lot less on such sales than most people think. If you pay $25 for a hardcover book, the author generally earns less than three dollars from that sale. Paperback sales pay the author less than a dollar per book (a little more for the larger format trade paperbacks). Oh, and remember: This is for new books only. Authors earn nothing on used book sales.

Where do e-books fit into this equation? The compensation to the author on an e-book sale is generally about half of what the author would receive on a hardcover sale, depending on the selling price. Unfortunately, as the Amazon experience demonstrates, e-books are probably cannibalizing hardcover sales right now, because the early adopters of e-books tend to be the most passionate readers - the ones who would otherwise rush to the store to buy new hardcovers.

On the other hand, e-books can't be shared with friends as readily as hardcovers. So publishers are hoping that, in the long run, more sales of e-books will make up for smaller hardcover sales, because more readers will choose to buy their own e-copy. We'll have to wait and see if that proves true. More e-reader devices are now providing ways to share books with others, and if that trend continues, it may make it harder to achieve the larger sales that authors and publishers are counting on.

Libraries are now getting into the e-book trend, which may also have an impact on book sales. Currently, library patrons make a trade-off: You can enjoy a print book for free, but you may have to wait to read a specific book you want. For example, one reader recently wrote to me that she was number 88 on the reserve list for one copy of THE BURYING PLACE at her local library, so she went out and bought the book instead. (I like that!) However, if numerous patrons can check out an e-book from a library simultaneously - without waiting - that may mean fewer readers buying books.

The bottom line? Right now, you probably won't find too many authors who are enthusiastic about the e-book trend. That's no surprise. The current recession has been particularly brutal for authors for a simple reason: Consumers have cut way back on their new book purchases. The result is that publishers are dropping many great writers because of declining sales, and other authors may be forced to get out of the business because they simply can't make a living anymore. Given this situation, authors are nervous that e-books will cut their shrinking compensation even further.

However, e-books are here to stay, and complaining about it won't change the reality of that trend. Authors will still rely on their readers to support them, just as they've done for years. Hopefully, as the economy improves, book sales will improve, too...whether it's books on paper or books on your Kindle, Nook, or iPad.

I have several events scheduled in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in July. If you're in the area, I hope you and your reader friends will join me in lake country to say hello and chat about my books.

On Tuesday, July 27, at 5:30 pm, I'll be joining the KAXE book club for a casual wine-and-cheese gathering to discuss my newest book, THE BURYING PLACE. Heidi Holtan of KAXE is the host, and you can get details about joining the event by calling Heidi at KAXE at 218-326-1234.

On Wednesday, July 28, I have two more events in Grand Rapids. I'll be at the Village Bookstore at 1:00 pm, and then that evening, I'll be visiting with the Grand Rapids Men's Reading Group at the Grand Rapids Library at 7:00 pm. You can stop by either event, and no, you don't have to be a man to participate in the men's reading group! For more information about the men's group, you can contact Randy McCarty at 218-326-4268.

All the events are free and open to all, so we'd love to have you participate. Feel free to bring copies of your books for signing! I'll also have books and bookmarks at all the events - and I'll even be selling special "I Love Brian Freeman Books" mugs for the first time ever!

In the meantime, you can also visit my new merchandise shop, www.cafepress.com/bfreemanbooks, for "Stride wear," "IMMORAL" t-shirts, and other fun clothes and gifts. Be sure to wear your clothes from the "House of Freeman" at our Grand Rapids events and get your picture taken!

See you in July!

I spent several days in southwestern Minnesota last week as I scouted locations for my seventh book. I'll be starting in on the actual writing this week and hope to finish the draft by the end of the year.

Readers of my books will notice that I like to create a "you are there" feel to my settings. I want you to read each scene as if you've been dropped in the middle of it, so that you can see, hear, feel, taste, smell, and touch what's going on around you. The best way I can do that is to identify actual locations for each chapter the way a movie director would -- and then record my impressions so that I can capture it on the page.

So you would have seen me patrolling the back roads last week with my camera and voice recorder. Abandoned main streets, dilapidated buildings, river dams, deserted parks...well, you can imagine what I can conjure with some of those settings to inspire me!

But there's also an interesting phenomenon that takes place as I visit the locales for a new book. At some point, the characters start to come to life there. I can feel them and hear them in these places. They start materializing like ghosts and slowly become more and more real. I haven't written the chapters yet -- but it's as if the action and emotions are playing out before me. That's when I know I'm ready to begin.

Now I'm back home...time to start writing!

Readers will often ask me at events, "Can I get an IMMORAL t-shirt? Or a Stride mug?" Well, now you can!

I am tiptoeing into the world of merchandising with the launch of my all-new Cafe Press gift shop at www.cafepress.com/bfreemanbooks. You can find t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, bumper stickers, stuffed bears, and other clothes and merchandise. Every product is available in a wide variety of colors and styles related to my books. (You'll see some samples on this page!)

These items are available to readers all over the world -- so you don't have to be in the U.S. to get your "Stride-wear"! Oh, and don't forget, it's never too early to start Christmas shopping for family and friends...

This is the "first generation" of Brian Freeman gifts, so feel free to share your suggestions for future products and designs. I'll be looking at other options in the months ahead.

Be sure to take photographs of you and your friends in your new Freeman fashions and post them on your Facebook page! Send them to me, too, or tag me in the photos. I'll be creating a special album on Facebook with pictures of fans proudly displaying the latest from the "House of Freeman."

P.S. The entire shop is run by Cafe Press, which means they select the merchandise, set the pricing, and handle the shipping...not me!

THE BURYING PLACE has been in stores for a couple of weeks now (even longer in the UK), and I'm starting to hear from readers who quickly devoured the book. That's always the challenge -- you folks read them faster than I can write them!

As you finish the book, I hope those of you who are patrons of Amazon or bn.com will post your online reviews. Word of mouth makes all the difference in finding new fans. Just keep the twists and surprises a closely guarded secret!

Here are some of the very kind messages I've received in the last few days:

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful feedback. Do keep writing to me -- as you know, I always write back -- and if your friends are fans, tell them to drop me a note.

Remember, too, that my fans are my biggest allies in getting the word out! If you want some suggestions, check out my "How Can I Help?" page on my web site.

I've already received many wonderful messages from readers who couldn't wait to dive into my new book, THE BURYING PLACE. Thanks for all your kind words. As you finish reading the book, I hope you'll post your online reviews at places like Amazon, BN, book blogs, and reader web sites.

I also hope you'll encourage your friends to discover my books! One of the comments I hear regularly from new fans is: "Why haven't I heard about you before?" Even after five books, many readers still haven't found me yet. Writing is one of the last great "word of mouth" businesses, and authors build a fan base one at a time, person by person. So all of you who already know my books are my greatest allies in spreading the word.

Several Facebook fans have begun posting links to my web site (www.bfreemanbooks.com) or to the fabulous Star Tribune review of THE BURYING PLACE. That's a BIG help, and I hope that you will do me the favor of mentioning my books on Facebook and other sites you visit, sending messages to friends, talking to local booksellers and librarians, etc. That's how new people get to know my books, and it's especially important right now, when my latest book has its widest availability in stores and online.

If you want more ideas, I've got a special page on my web site with lots of other suggestions for ways to spread the word.

THANKS for reading and for all of your support!

If you're looking for signed copies of THE BURYING PLACE, you have lots of options.

You can order signed, personally inscribed copies for yourself or for gifts (remember, Mother's Day is around the corner!) by contacting the Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis or O'Donoghue Books in Anoka, Minnesota. I'll be at Once Upon a Crime on Saturday and O'Donoghue next Tuesday, so you should have the copies delivered soon after my visits.

There are also several independent bookstores that have signed copies in stock right now: The Bookstore at Fitger's in Duluth (where I launched the book on Tuesday), M is for Mystery in California, Poisoned Pen in Arizona, and Bookin' It in Little Falls, Minnesota. All can do mail orders for you.

If you check my events page, you can also contact any of the stores I'll be visiting in the next few weeks in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida to pre-order signed, inscribed copies. Or, even better, you could come to the event and get the book signed personally!

With my fifth novel, THE BURYING PLACE, now available in U.S. bookstores, I thought you would enjoy some background on my choice of Duluth and its frozen landscape as the locale for the books.

I was recently interviewed by fellow mystery author J. Sydney Jones for his "Scene of the Crime" blog. Syd writes historical mysteries set in turn-of-the-last-century Vienna, so he's very familiar with the importance of place in our books. You can read the interview by clicking here.

Syd talks about Duluth in my books as America's answer to Swedish noir, and I think he's on to something there. There are geographical and cultural parallels between Minnesota and Sweden; in fact, Swedes call Minnesota "Swedishland" because of all the emigrants who made their way to the state. I've had readers draw comparisons between my books and those of Henning Mankell for the same reasons -- and that's a great honor, because I have huge respect for Mankell's work.

So can you find a little bit of the Swedish remoteness in Duluth? And a little bit of Kurt Wallander in Jonathan Stride? Judge for yourself!

For everyone who has been waiting for the U.S. release of my fifth novel, THE BURYING PLACE, the wait is over! The new book is available now in U.S. bookstores.

When this novel was released in the UK late last year, London's Daily Mail said in its review: "My discovery this year has been the Edgar-nominated crime writer Brian Freeman....Fleshed-out characters, high tension and terrifying twists put Freeman up there with Harlan Coben in the psychological crime stratosphere."

This book takes readers into the bleak, snow-swept terrain in the farmlands between Duluth and Grand Rapids. Here's the jacket copy that describes the action:

One cold night. Two shocking mysteries.

Each twist in the investigation takes Stride into an elaborate web of deceit and desire. But his biggest obstacles may be the very people he's trying to help. With everything at risk and time running out, Stride worries how far a desperate mother will go to rescue her baby - and how far a desperate cop will go to save herself.

I've been delighted with the reaction of early readers to this book. Here's what one reader just wrote to me: "I've read every one of your books and just finished The Burying Place. Actually, I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns of your books are incredible." That's what an author loves to hear. I know that the more books I write, the more readers will have their personal favorites -- but I try to bring something new with every novel, so that readers think each one is the best book yet.

THE BURYING PLACE may be the most shocking, intense book I've written to date. I hope you enjoy it -- and as always, write to me with your thoughts.

My new novel THE BURYING PLACE will be arriving in stores on April 13, but if you or your friends haven't discovered me yet, you can look for my fourth novel IN THE DARK in paperback in U.S. stores as of today.

Find out more about the book -- and read an excerpt -- at my special IN THE DARK page on this site. You can buy the book at your local bookseller, or you can visit one of many electronic retailers at my Buy the Books page.

I always tell readers that IN THE DARK is a great place to start when getting to know my books. It takes you deep into the past of Jonathan Stride and lets you see many of the emotional influences that shaped him as a man and as a detective. As he deals with an unsolved case from the 1970s that affected him personally, he must not only face fear and violence rippling into the present, but also the secrets kept by people close to him.

If you've already read IN THE DARK, be sure to tell your friends to look for it now! And of course, get ready for THE BURYING PLACE coming soon.

In May of 2005, the publication of my first book IMMORAL was still several months away, but early copies had begun to make their way to advance readers. I'd heard many kind words from people inside the industry, but I didn't know what to expect or how the book would be received among people in the real world. Readers. The ones who really count.

Then, on May 22, 2005, I received my first-ever fan letter. It was from a woman named Gail in northern California. She'd been a bookseller in the Bay Area, and she was still on the list to receive advance copies from publishers.

"Where have you been?" Gail wrote to me. "Why didn't someone send you to sit in the corner to write sooner? This is the most brilliant, haunting debut thriller I've ever read." She went on for several paragraphs to talk about the plot and characters, and by the time I was done reading her note, I felt as if I had a future as a writer. It was one of those moments from my career that I will always cherish.

Gail and I kept writing to each other, and we quickly became friends. When IMMORAL was released, I had a few t-shirts printed with the cover art, and I sent her a signed shirt. It was ridiculously big for this lovely, tiny woman, but when I did a book signing in northern California that fall, there was Gail, proudly waiting for me at the bookstore, with her IMMORAL t-shirt hanging down practically to her knees.

I began to send Gail early manuscripts of my work to get feedback before I even submitted them to my editors. With my last two books, I sent her the first section of the draft while it was in progress, long before anyone, even Marcia, had seen it. Writing a book is a lonely, neurotic adventure, and as you are in the earliest stages of building a new novel, you can't believe it will ever come together. But when Gail wrote back to me, hungry to read more, urging me to write faster, I knew the book would be what I wanted it to be.

Marcia and I had the good fortune to meet Gail and her family two more times in the past few years. We had dinner with her, her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandson over paella and wine on perfect northern California afternoons. The picture here is of me and Gail on one of those occasions, and I will always remember us on that walk in the hills, side by side, both of us climbing toward the future.

Gail was coy about her past. She loved keeping secrets and would let out little hints about her wilder days, enough to whet your appetite for more. She was a young woman in northern California in the 1960s...you can do the math. I always suggested to Gail that she and I should sit down sometime and write her autobiography. But some books are meant to be lived, not written.

More than a year ago, Gail wrote to tell me that she was in a battle with cancer. She had fought the disease once before years earlier and beaten it, and I felt that if anyone had the courage and strength to win that battle again, it was Gail. She waged a remarkable struggle, and for a while, it seemed as if nothing could defeat her. Doctors called her their miracle patient when all the scans last fall came back clear and healthy. But cancer is an evil and shameless foe, and I learned this morning that it had taken away this woman who had grown to mean so much to me and Marcia.

Gail would be annoyed with me for the tears we've shed today. She told me that she lived an incredible life and that in all those years she had only one regret - that she ever lit that first cigarette.

I will miss all of her notes, her humor, her enthusiasm, her inspiration. I will miss the joy and pride I felt when I could put a new book in her hands. But in every book I write from this day forward, there will always be a little bit of Gail. She will be at my shoulder and in my head and heart, helping me. For now, though, the lonely work of writing feels especially lonely today. Goodbye, Gail, and thanks for everything. We miss you.

We're getting close to some major book launches.

The U.S. release of my fifth novel to feature Jonathan Stride, THE BURYING PLACE, is set for April 13. Just before that book arrives, readers can also find the paperback edition of my last novel, IN THE DARK, which will be released on March 31. If you have reader friends who haven't discovered my books yet, you can point them to either book as a great way to start.

THE BURYING PLACE also arrives in paperback in the UK on April 1 -- no fooling. When the book was released in hardback in the UK last fall, London's Daily Mail called me the discovery of the year in crime fiction. Very nice.

With the release of the books in the U.S., I have a variety of events scheduled in April and May, including locations throughout Minnesota (everywhere from the Twin Cities to southwestern Minnesota and Duluth) and a couple events in Wisconsin and Florida. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello!

I was in the Phoenix area recently for book events, and I had the good fortune to see one of my most enthusiastic and loyal readers, Joyce. Every author should be lucky enough to have an army of Joyce on his side, and I've been extremely fortunate to have many readers like her who are so wonderfully supportive.

Since my visit, Joyce has: launched a campaign to build a book club of 100 Brian Freeman readers at her work place (she's already past 20); charmed the manager of the local B&N into ordering more copies of my books and getting him to read me; written to the book reviewer at her local paper to suggest (it may be "demand"!) that she review The Burying Place when it's released; and sent an e-mail with review clips and a link to my web site to 50 of her friends.

Wow! I've told Joyce that I'm investigating cloning, and I may send her to New York to work for my publisher. I also promised that if she can get 100 Freeman fans in a book club, I'll certainly make the trip back to Arizona to meet them. (In the winter, of course...I'm no fool.)

I'm in the process of organizing my expenses for 2009 before the ritual of making our annual offerings to the IRS. I came across one royalty statement that opens a little window onto the life of an author. I'm not sure if it's funny, sad, or ironic...you'll have to decide for yourself!

The statement is for royalties earned in 2008 from one country for one book. The wire transfer arrived at my bank account in July -- so right from the start, I waited seven months for payment. The gross amount due to me? $153.75. (You think authors are rich, hmm? Ha ha, not so much.)

That was the gross amount. Then the mice began to nibble at the cheese. Here are the deductions: $15.38 to my primary agent, $15.38 to my co-agent in that country, $7.69 in foreign tax to that country, $44.60 in bank charges from the UK for doing the wire transfer, and $20 in bank charges from the US for receiving the wire transfer.

Net payment to me: $50.70. In other words, less than one third of the gross royalty. Oh, and that's before federal and state taxes, too!

Okay, that may be an extreme example, but I had to laugh when I added it all up. Well, I swore first, then I laughed.

February is a busy month for library visits in Minnesota.

On Saturday, February 6, I'll be at the Northtown Library in Blaine at 2:00 pm. On the evening of Tuesday, February 16, I'll be at the Savage Library at 7:00 pm. Finally, on the evening of Thursday, February 25, I'll be visiting the Maple Plain Library at 6:30 pm. I'll be speaking and answering questions from readers at all of these events, and my books will be available for sale and signing if you've missed any of them along the way.

You can see a complete roster of my upcoming events at the Events page on the web site.

One enthusiastic reader noted my event in Blaine and wondered if I meant Blaine, Washington. She was ready to drive five hours to see me! I love the dedication, but I had to tell her I was in Minnesota, not Washington. Maybe next time!

Thanks for visiting my all-new web site at www.bfreemanbooks.com.  I hope you'll browse the site and learn more about me and my books.  Feel free to send me an e-mail with your feedback, join my e-mail list, or become a fan on my Facebook page and post your comments with other readers.

On the new site, you'll find information and excerpts from all of my books, links to sites where you can buy the books around the world, and exclusive bonus content, including short stories not available anywhere else.  I'll be posting additional content in the months ahead.  You can also subscribe to my blog and events pages for up-to-the-minute news about my books and appearances.

If you signed up to follow my blog on my old web site, you will have to sign up again on this page in order to keep receiving my posts. (Look for the "Subscribe to feed" link on this page.) If you follow my posts on Facebook, however, you should still see them there as I release new entries. I have also posted copies of many of my favorite blog entries from the past few years here on the new site, so feel free to re-visit them.

For those of you in book clubs, don't miss the Book Club page, where you'll find questions to guide discussions of each of my books.  You can even invite me to join you by phone!

One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is:  How much money do authors receive on the sale of their books?  The answer can get complex depending on the edition, the discount, the number of copies sold, etc., but I saw the following breakdown as provided by a literary agent the other day and thought you'd enjoy getting a look at how publishing economics work:

Start with a $24.95 hardcover.

Discounts to booksellers vary, but for a rough estimate figure that the publisher receives around 50%.

Let's say the author has a 10% retail royalty, and the author has an agent who receives 15% of the author's share. This works out to (again, roughly):

$12.48 to the bookseller (50%)
$9.98 to the publisher (50% minus author/agent share)
$2.12 to the author (10% of retail minus 15%)
$0.38 to the agent (15% of 10%)

For another example, let's take a $14.95 trade paperback where the author receives 7.5% retail. That translates to:

$7.48 to the bookseller
$5.83 to the publisher
$0.95 to the author
$0.17 to the agent

Obviously, it's less for mass market paperbacks (where the retail price is normally around $7.99 -- you can do the math) and for e-books (where, depending on the retail price, the royalty is about a third of what the author would receive on a hardcover sale). 

We're only talking about new books here, of course.  Sales at used book stores make money only for the bookseller -- the publisher, author, and agent receive no compensation.  Most libraries buy their books, but a single sale at a library is a single sale, regardless of how many patrons read it.

There's a reason why the song goes, "I'll be home for Christmas - but only in my dreams."

For many families, the holiday season is a time of distance, whether it's parents and children living in different corners of the world, husbands and wives separated by military service, or anyone celebrating in one place while part of their heart is in another.  Marcia and I know this experience well.  My own family is more than a thousand miles away, so usually we get together at other times of the year, rather than during the crazy holiday travel season.  We also deal with remoteness in other ways as a result of the book business.  One of the great joys of my life as an author has been the opportunity to get to know people in many corners of the world - across the U.S. and in many other countries - including readers, booksellers, editors, agents, publicists, radio hosts...anyone who is passionate about books.  We've never met most of them face to face, and the reality is, we may never have a chance to do so.  Of course, when we get that occasional opportunity - visiting an area and finally having a chance to hug someone who has become a friend across the miles - it's a huge blessing.

However, we have come to terms with the fact that little pieces of our hearts will always be spread around the world.  Even when we are home in Minnesota, we are also far from people we love.  There's sadness in that, but also joy in knowing so many people who make the world seem a little smaller.  Remoteness may be a fact of life at the holidays and during the rest of the year, but we will continue to treasure all the relationships in our lives, wherever they may be.  To all of you who make it brighter for us - Merry Christmas and our warmest wishes for 2010.

Christmas carols are already showing up on the radio again, and Thanksgiving is just a few days away.  At this time of year, readers often ask me about giving my books as holiday gifts.  Excellent idea -- glad you asked.

We're still a few months away from the hardcover release of THE BURYING PLACE (the much-awaited fifth Jonathan Stride novel) in the U.S., so if you have any trouble locating my first four novels (IMMORAL, STRIPPED, STALKED, and IN THE DARK) in stores, don't hesitate to place an order with your local bookseller.  There should be plenty of time for every bookstore to get them in stock.  You can also find the books with immediate availability at online retailers such as Amazon and BN.com.

What if you want signed copies with special inscriptions for your loved ones?  No problem.  There are two ways to do it.  First, you can buy the books yourself, and send them to me with return postage and instructions for any inscription you'd like.  My address is:  Brian Freeman, PO Box 25211, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55125.  I'm happy to sign books for you.  Alternatively, you can also order my books through my local mystery bookstore, Once Upon a Crime, in Minneapolis.  (612-870-3785 or onceuponacrime@earthlink.net)  Pat and Gary are happy to do mail orders and can arrange for me to sign the books for you well before the holidays.

So give your friends and relatives a thrill this year.  Happy Holidays!

Here's a scary thought for authors and readers alike.  What if there were no more bookstores?

If you don't think that could ever happen, think back on a few names from the past:  Musicland.  Wherehouse.  Tower.  Virgin.  These were all huge music superstores, and with few exceptions, they're long gone.  The concept of a music-only store has all but disappeared from retail.  If consumers want music, they go to places like Best Buy, Target, or Wal-Mart, or to online sources like Amazon and iTunes.

It's not hard to imagine bookstores going the same way.  Hundreds of wonderful independent bookstores have shut their doors in the past decade.  Mall favorites like Waldenbooks and B.Dalton have largely given way to Barnes & Noble and Borders -- and those chains now struggle with flat or declining sales.  In another decade, readers -- like music lovers -- may find themselves restricted to small selections at big box retailers or wind up doing their shopping online.

Is that a problem?  After all, musicians haven't disappeared, despite the evolving retail environment.  But I do think it's a worrisome trend for writers and readers.  First, large retailers don't devote much real estate to books, so their selection is extremely limited.  If your name isn't James Patterson or Nora Roberts, you may never wind up on their shelves, which means readers will find it harder to browse and discover new writers.  Second, musicians have additional channels for reaching an audience that authors don't enjoy.  Newspapers and magazines still devote ample page space to music.  Concerts and merchandise are still big business -- and big sources of publicity and revenue.  Songs are easy to spread virally through iTunes and YouTube, unlike books, which require a much larger bloc of time to enjoy.  You could "find" Susan Boyle, for example, with a three-minute performance online that attracted millions of viewers in a few days.  Books don't generally work that way.

Authors and publishers already face turbulent economic times.  Readers don't generally stop reading in a recession -- but their behavior changes in ways that mean authors derive little or no compensation from the people who enjoy their boks.  If 50 readers buy a new hardcover, for example, the total compensation to the author is approximately $125.  If 50 readers buy a new paperback, the compensation drops to about $35.  If 50 readers check out the book from the library, the compensation drops to about $2.50.  If 50 readers go to used book stores like eBay, the compensation drops to zero.  It's easy to do the math.

The trend suggests an uncertain future in the book biz.  For those of us who love books, we need to pay close attention to the next steps in how books are bought and sold.  How will e-books change the equation, for example?  Will other retailers pick up the slack if traditional retailers disappear?  Will independent sellers make a comeback?  I don't have the answers, but one thing is true:  The industry will look very different ten years from now than it does today.  The question is whether authors and readers will like what they see.

My letter to the editor about the American Library Association's Banned Books Week was printed in the Wall Street Journal today.  Here's what the letter said:

Mitchell Muncy thinks that the American Library Association is overreacting to attempts by "law-abiding parents" to ban books in their local libraries (Taste, September 25).  I think it's more accurate to suggest that we don't face a serious threat to our free speech rights today because of the vigilance among librarians in resisting such pressure.

A small example:  When I spoke at a local library last year about my novels, the librarian subsequently informed me that a resident had called to demand I be "disinvited," because one of my books included "a reference to male genitalia."  Egad!  Amusing?  Sure.  Harmless?  I don't think so.  Such people hide behind "free speech," but their real agenda is to dictate to their neighbors what they may choose to read and hear.

Fortunately, our librarians are a buffer against those would try to substitute their values and standards for our own.  For that, we owe them thanks.

So to you librarians out there -- Thanks!

This should generate some discussion.

I think of this topic because I'm in San Mateo, California, which is the hometown in which I grew up.  Tomorrow, Marcia and I head back to Minnesota, which we've called home for more than 25 years.  We've spent the last 10 days helping my parents through my Dad's knee replacement surgery.  (All went well, thanks.)

But this reflection really isn't about my hometown.  I'm thinking of the music associated with prose.  When readers ask me how I go about editing my books, I tell them that I listen to the music of the words, and that's how I create the style and flow I'm looking for.  It's also why I can't listen to the audio editions of my books.  I hear great reviews from listeners about the CD renditions, but I can't listen to someone else reading my words.  It's not how I hear it.  It's not the music in my head.

I'm trying to create a certain theme, a certain feel, with my books.  One of my favorite songs of late is by the Grammy-winning singer Adele, and it's called "Hometown Glory."  Much of it is her solo voice linked to a hypnotic piano theme.  I've spent some time thinking about why I enjoy the song so much, and I realized it's because the "sound" of that song captures the mood I'm trying to build in my books.  There's a dark, driving power to the piano and a sense of heroism and grief overlaying the music.  That's what I hope you'll find when you read one of my novels.

Check it out on iTunes.  Let me know if you agree.  Of course, you may hear a very different music.  Stride's theme is probably unique to each individual.  But there's a music to books, no doubt about it, and we all hear it based on our own experiences.

I just got back from a week in Door County, Wisconsin, where I was scouting locales for book six.  If you've been to any of my reader events, you'll know that I try to choose scenes for the chapters much like a film director would.  I outline in such a way that I know how each chapter advances the story or the characters -- but I leave the setting open so that I can find locales that enrich the drama.  I do that by visiting the area, finding dramatic places that reinforce each scene, and taking voice notes and photographs.

Why Door County?  I wanted a setting in the Upper Midwest -- like the Stride novels -- but one with a more rural flavor, where there's tension between natives and outsiders.  Door County, which is like Cape Cod dropped into the Midwest, fits the bill perfectly.  It's a beautiful area, filled with lighthouses, deserted dirt roads, and quaint little shops -- but there's also an inherent discomfort between long-time residents and wealthy arrivals from Chicago.  That anxiety is part of the plot of book six.  I'm really excited about the story and characters and can't wait to share them with you.

While I was there, I also visited the lovely Novel Ideas bookstore in Baileys Harbor, which is run by Michelle, an alumna of Anderson's bookstore in Naperville, Illinois.  (Yes, another of those former Chicagoans!)  I'll be calling into Michelle's book club in October, when they read IMMORAL.

Meanwhile, UK fans are counting down toward the release of the fifth Stride novel, THE BURYING PLACE, in September.  (I know, I know, it's a long wait until the US release in April.)  One clever reader managed to get her hands on an advance reader copy from the UK and wrote to tell me it was the best book yet.  That's what I like to hear.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to speak to more than two dozen inmates in the prison library at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, which is an all-women facility (and the only state prison for women in Minnesota). Eagled-eyed readers will remember that Serena visits an inmate at the Shakopee facility in STALKED, before her terrifying drive back to Duluth.

It's a prison that doesn't look like a prison at all. There is no fence. No barbed wire. From the outside, it looks more like a series of college dormitories. It's not until you go inside that you find the guards, the metal detectors, the bullet-proof glass, and the locked doors. Even so, the facility feels more like a community than it does a traditional prison, and that's deliberate. There's even a parenting building in the complex in which children sometimes spend the night with their mothers under certain conditions.

Are there violent offenders at Shakopee? I'm sure. Was I talking to any of them? I don't have a clue. I will say that listening to the women, I was reminded of the philosophy behind my psychological suspense novels - that the heroes are not all good and the villains are not all bad. I want the reader to understand the backgrounds of the characters so they can recognize the influences that led them across difficult lines and into some bad choices. I think that message resonated at the prison. I hope so.

These were ordinary women of various ages and ethnicity. I confess I found myself looking at many of them wondering: What are you doing here? How did you get here? But that again is the writer looking for the story. They asked great questions - in many cases, better than many reporters and book clubs with whom I've chatted in the past. As the librarian noted to me, these are women looking for the emotional makeup of the characters, and so their questions got to the heart of how you put a character together on the page.

The lightest moment was during the introduction. The librarian mentioned that one of the inmates at the facility had introduced her to my books and was a huge fan. She'd been released a month before the event. The librarian said it was almost a shame, because she knew this woman would have loved to meet me.

"I suspect she's still happier anyway," I said. They all laughed.

Readers will sometimes ask me:  What's the most difficult part of writing a book?  Is it coming up with the plot and character ideas?  Writing the manuscript itself?  Editing?  Marketing?

Well, all of those phases of the writing process have their own challenges, but I think there's one phase that is harder than the others.  As I get started on book six, I'm in the midst of that phase right now.  It's the early chapters of the book.

I know where I'm going in book six.  I have a plot outline that I can't wait to explore in the draft itself.  I'm excited about the characters.  But now I have to start putting it all into words.  Once you're about a third of the way into the manuscript, the book begins to develop a momentum of its own.  The characters become fully formed in your head, and in an odd way, they help you with the writing itself, because their actions and dialogue start to seem natural.

Right now?  Not so much.  In the early chapters, you're still getting to know the characters.  They're still strangers.  I know some of their life stories, but I really don't know yet how they think, talk, act, and behave (or misbehave).  So it's a slow process, with lots of re-writes, as I start to put the first few brush strokes on the canvas.

It's been this way with every book, and I always say I'll remember it next year.  But I don't.  I still find myself in the early pages saying:  Why is this so hard?  Has it always been this hard?  Yes, it has, and I imagine it always will.  Soon enough, in the next couple of months, the people in this book will feel like old friends.  Now, I'm just finding out who they are.

I've mentioned in the past that I regularly join discussions with book clubs that read one or more of my books.  For those of you in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota (where I'm located), I'm happy to visit your club in person.  In fact, I've got a couple more club meetings coming up later this month.

I also do book club visits by phone across the U.S. and around the world.  It's fun to answer questions for readers located everywhere from New Jersey to Florida to Australia, even when the time zone changes mean I can be chatting with people in the middle of the night.  If you're not a member of a book club now, you might stop in at your local bookstore or library and see if they have a club you can join.  And of course, feel free to suggest my books!

Meanwhile, I can now offer a new service to book clubs -- video chats.  I'm equipped with a web cam and a Skype account, so if one of your book club members is similarly equipped, I can actually chat with your group by video (and it's free for both of us).  If you'd like to talk to me about a club meeting (in-person, by phone, or by video), just send me an e-mail at brian@bfreemanbooks.com.

I'm in the process of working with my web team on the launch of the next generation of www.bfreemanbooks.com in September.  The site will focus on the community of Brian Freeman readers and will give me an opportunity to expand bonus content and other resources for fans.  I'll keep you posted as we get closer to releasing the new site.

I'm back at work now and digging in on book six.  In the meantime, though, I know everyone is curious about the fifth Jonathan Stride novel, THE BURYING PLACE.

Book five will arrive in U.S. bookstores in April 2010.  Readers in the UK will get a head-start, as the hardback edition is due out there in September 2009.  Both publishers have developed tremendous -- and very different covers -- for this book. The U.S. cover, shown here, has a stark 1950s IN COLD BLOOD feel to it.  It captures the late fall loneliness of a novel in which much of the action takes place in the farmlands north of Duluth.

What is it about?  Well, I'll tell you that the action follows closely on the heels of the fourth novel, IN THE DARK, and for those of you who have read that book, you can imagine that the events will shape Stride's life as he tackles his next case.  It's shocking and intense, with deep characters and twists and turns.  I'll give you more hints in the months to come.

My sixth book, which I'm starting now, won't arrive in stores until early 2011 in the U.S.  This is my first stand-alone (unless you count THE AGENCY by Ally O'Brien), a novel in my classic psychological suspense style, but with all-new characters.  If you love the Stride books, I feel confident in saying you'll love this one, too.  Don't worry, though...Stride will return in book seven.

I will be offline for much of June as Marcia and I head off to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  When we return, I'll be digging in on my sixth suspense novel.

I'll also be giving you a look ahead at the fifth Jonathan Stride novel THE BURYING PLACE, which may be the most shocking and intense novel I've written to date.  THE BURYING PLACE arrives in the UK and much of the world this fall and will be released in the U.S. in the spring of 2010.  I'll have more details to share soon.

In the meantime, thanks to all of you who have given me such wonderful feedback on IN THE DARK (a.k.a. THE WATCHER).  I know that the more books I write, the more readers will have their personal favorites, because certain characters and plots will resonate with their own experiences.  Even so, my goal is to raise the bar with each book -- and so I'm delighted by the number of readers who have told me that the latest book is the best one yet.

That is, until you read THE BURYING PLACE...

In IN THE DARK, Tish Verdure asks Stride if there's anything of which he's afraid.  With some hesitation, Stride admits that he's afraid of loss.  "I hate endings, goodbye, funerals, everything like that," he says.  "The end of books.  The end of movies.  The end of vacations.  I like it when things keep going, but they never do."

This comes to mind because Marcia and I are at the end of an agonizing week in which we had to say goodbye to our friend and companion of more than 19 years, our cat Disney.  His health has been going downhill for several months, and he had a particularly bad day on Monday.  We're leaving town for nearly three weeks soon for our 25th anniversary trip, and we knew he was in no condition to survive without us, and we hated the idea of him dying of a broken heart, feeling alone and abandoned.  We struggled with the decision all week, but when we saw him at peace yesterday, we knew we had done the right thing.

As I said to Marcia, it's hard to imagine a better way to spend your last hours than to rest in a sunbeam on your mom's lap, with a belly full of tuna fish, and then to go to sleep with your friends whispering how much they love you.

So we know we did the right thing by him.  The suffering now is ours.  For almost two decades, it's been just the three of us, and the house feels empty and lonely.  We know there are many other cats out there that need a good home, and soon several of them will move in and take over, as cats do.  But for now, we simply miss our little guy.

One of my readers posted the following note on my wall on Facebook:  "After my suggestion, the manager of Houston Borders read your new book "In the Dark" and loved it so much that she ordered several extra copies for the store."

There couldn't be a better example of the power of reader referrals.  Booksellers and librarians help readers find new authors every day -- but they struggle with the sheer volume of books and have to prioritize what they read themselves.  That's why they pay attention when a customer or patron makes a recommendation.  When an avid reader tells them, "You HAVE to read this author!", they listen.

I always suggest to readers who write to me that they spread the word to local bookstores and libraries.  That's why.  Be sure to let me know, too, if you recommend my books and one of your local managers or librarians becomes a fan.  I'll drop them a personal note to say thanks.

The hero of my series is a Duluth police lieutenant named Jonathan Stride.

When I was creating Stride in my first book IMMORAL, I didn't want a stereotypical, grizzled, emotionless detective.  I wanted someone who at his heart is a passionate man.  He struggles with his emotions, and sometimes they get the better of him, whether as a detective or as a man.  Sometimes his passions blind him to the truth of a case, and he makes mistakes as a result of it.  He's not a super-hero.  He's flawed and human, and I think that's why readers relate to him.

Stride is obviously the glue that holds the series together, but he doesn't dominate the stage.  Readers will occasionally tell me - approvingly - that Stride is sometimes a supporting character.  He lets other voices carry the book.  In that way, readers get pulled into the psychological suspense, by getting inside the head of the other characters, not just Stride.

On  the other hand, I tell people who are new to the series that my fourth book, IN THE DARK, is a great place to start.  That's because this book, more than any other since IMMORAL, is very much Stride's book.  I wanted a story that allows the reader to get to know Stride and the influences that shaped him.  So this story takes you deep into Stride's past and to an unsolved murder from thirty years ago that involved people who were close to Stride's heart.  That summer of violence was a big part of what made him the man he is.  In this new novel, he must confront those events and finally resolve them - and deal with the loss and grief he never fully accepted.

Can a suspense novel make you cry?  This one just might.  By the end, I hope you'll feel close to Jonathan Stride and his past.

These days, authors sometimes seem to spend as much time talking about their books as they do writing them.  Not that that's a hardship for us.  After all, how bad can it be to have a profession where people ask you to stand up and talk about yourself?

If you'd like me to participate in your club, by the way, just send me an e-mail at brian@bfreemanbooks.com.  I do call-in discussions all the time around the world.  I've been known to be up in the middle of the night talking to readers in Australia,so calling to New Jersey or Oregon is no problem!

There are other signs of enthusiasm in the reading community.  People laugh about the silver bullet influence of Oprah's recommendations on the bestseller list, but I think it shows that people are hungry for good books, and they're looking for recommendations on which they can rely.  Also, every time I hear that young people don't read anymore, I look at my Facebook page, where many of my most enthusiastic fans are readers in college or in their 20s.  They're always pushing me to hurry up on the next book. 

People have responded to great stories for centuries, and I don't think that's really changing.  We just need to make sure that we work together to help people of all ages - not just kids - enjoy the power of reading.  Book clubs, librarians, booksellers, schools, authors, publishers, reviewers - we can all help spread the gospel.  If you look at the phenomenon of The Da Vinci Code a few years ago, you can see the book drawing in millions of new readers who may not have cracked a book in years.  That's an encouraging sign.  We just need to give them a reason to come back.

Ironically, maybe the struggling economy will help.  After all, a book offers pretty good entertainment value for the dollar.

New readers will sometimes ask me:  If you could compare your books to those of another author, whom would it be?  Do you write like Michael Connelly?  Harlan Coben?  David Baldacci?

Well, yes.  And no.  My novels revolve around police investigations, so to that extent, they're reminiscent of Connelly.  The plots are filled with twists and turns that may remind readers of Coben.  And there are pure thrills along the way, too, that you'd expect from a writer like Baldacci.  Maybe that's why reviewers in publications like the Chicago Tribune and Library Journal point fans of those authors to my books.  On the other hand, in the same way that those authors write very distinctive kinds of books themselves, you'll get a different experience reading mine.

I'm not a big fan of putting labels on books - mystery, thriller, police procedural, cozy, domestic thriller, etc., etc. - because I think each book should stand on its own, rather than be assigned to a formula that may or may not fit.  But if you tied me down (please don't do that - I'm having flashbacks of Misery) and forced me to give my books a name, I'd call them "psychological suspense."

To me, that means building drama that arises out of the emotions and secrets of the characters.  You won't find forensic minutiae a la Cornwell in my books, and you won't find intricacies of police procedure and department politics a la Connelly.  Instead - through multiple perspectives - I try to paint a picture of the backgrounds and psychology of the characters, in a way that you understand what drew them across a terrible line.  By the time you reach the final shocking conclusion, it should not only be the last piece in the puzzle, it should also feel like the right emotional resolution for the drama.

I don't want books where the heroes are all good and the villains are all bad.  Every character in my novels operates in the same moral gray scale that we face in daily life, making the best choices we can based on our backgrounds, biases, prejudices, and beliefs.  Sometimes we make the right choices, and sometimes we don't, and sometimes we're not sure which is which.  That's true of my characters, too - including the detectives.  Their goal is justice, but as in any complex situation, that's not always easy to achieve.

So when you open up IN THE DARK - or any of my novels - that's the world you'll enter.  I hope you enjoy it.  My goal is that the pace will drive you through the book at a rocket rate, because you have to find out what happens next.  But I always tell readers that they should go back after they're done and read the book more slowly to pick up the nuances of the characters.  That's what psychological suspense is all about.

It's no mystery why authors rely so heavily on readers to help them build an audience.  Publishing is one of the last great "word of mouth" businesses, where writers build their reputation reader by reader, book by book.  I've been extremely fortunate to have some wonderful readers around the world acting as advocates on my behalf - and I'm grateful for their efforts and support.

Readers at book signings will sometimes ask me what they can do to help.  There are actually many ways in which readers can lend a hand to the authors they enjoy.  The most obvious thing to do - Tell a friend - covers a lot of ground these days.  People who have always shared news of a favorite author with family and friends can now reach an even larger group of people through their status, links, notes, and messages on Facebook and MySpace; through their "tweets" on Twitter; through their blogs; or through online book networks like Shelfari and GoodReads.  They can recommend books to local book clubs.  They can talk to their local librarian.  They can spread the word to employees at their local bookstore.

So "tell a friend" goes a long way.  I've even had readers go so far as to write to book reviewers at their local newspaper and recommend they cover a particular book.  And you know what?  It often works.  There is so much content out there today that everyone - readers, librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers - relies on word of mouth to find authors they might otherwise miss.  Publishers and authors are interested parties, so the objective opinion of readers carries a lot of weight.

So remember - you have the power!

There are tragedies that also remind you of why you do what you do in life.

Back in January, I spoke at a senior apartment complex near our home, where my in-laws reside.  One of the women there bought a copy of IMMORAL as a gift after my remarks.

I didn't know it at the time, but the woman had lost a son to cancer -- and not long ago had discovered that a second son had terminal cancer, too, and had been confined to a hospice.  She bought the book for him.

My wife Marcia was at the apartment complex visiting her mother today.  The woman who bought the book saw her there and immediately came over.  She wanted us to know that her son had passed away.  IMMORAL turned out to be the last book he ever read, and she asked Marcia to tell me how much he had enjoyed it.

I couldn't help crying when I heard that news.  But as Marcia told me, it's the kind of story you remember at those times when you wonder if you ever make a difference in the world.

Well, that seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?  But it helps to remember how true that is.  I spent a couple hours last weekend at a bookstore in the Twin Cities, and one of the booksellers mentioned that they had recently conducted a "handselling" contest, in which each of them picked one of their favorite books and made a point of recommending it to customers.

The winner sold around 150 paperbacks.  One book, one store, 150 copies.  And it wasn't even The Da Vinci Code.

The fact is, at chain stores and independents alike, customers come into the store looking for referrals and recommendations.  "I've read all of Michael Connelly's books, who would you suggest I try next?"  That's when handselling by retailers makes a difference for authors building a brand with new readers.

The moral of the story?  I always ask readers who love my books to tell their friends -- and their local bookseller, too.  When a bookseller gets a positive review from a customer, they can spread the word far and wide.  That's how authors sell books.