My first collection, SOFT & OTHERS, has been out of print and hard to find for 20 years. I've resurrected it as an ebook with bonus stories. All formats: $2.99. Lots of other formerly o-o-p titles available on my ebook page - some free, most $2.99.

I see that Leslie Nielsen passed away. He certainly carved out a niche for himself in stupid comedies.

It’s that time of year, so here we go again.

If you're looking for a unique, reasonably priced Christmas gift for your sons and daughters and nieces and nephews, or even some adult children on your list, your ol' buddy the Effster has heard your wails of despair and once again come to the rescue.

For a limited time we're offering inscribed copies of my illustrated children's Christmas book, The Christmas Thingy. The same local bookseller as last year has agreed to handle the sales.

NOTA BENE: We'll have to cut off orders as of ***12/20*** to guarantee Christmas delivery.

It's out of print everywhere except this newsletter, but you can go here for a peek inside.

Here's the deal: For $20 ($15 + $5 S&H) you'll get the large-size (11.4 x 8.9 inches) softcover fully illustrated book inscribed to the recipient. After you call in your order to Rita at Book Towne, I'll stop by her store and inscribe the book to the intended recipient(s), then she'll pop it in the mail.

I usually write (with a red Sharpie):
"To Thingy's pal,
(name or names),
Merry Christmas!"
and then my signature.

Call Rita at 732-722-7255 or stop by her store at 171 Main St, Manasquan, NJ 08736

For those of you who don't know, David Schow, Douglas Winter, and I recorded a commentary track years ago to coincide with Paramount's release of The Keep DVD. Well, Michael Mann aborted that and the track has lain fallow ever since. Now, with the film available from Netflix in streaming form, maybe we should make it available.

Question: Does anyone know where we could put up such huge files for sale? We're looking for a Kindlelike operation where someone houses the files, collects the money, and sends us our share. We don't expect to sell many and so the price would be nominal - just enough to make it worth someone's while.

I was watching the movie Son of Dracula the other day. It is a movie in the 40's and Dracula calls himself Alucard(read backwords if you havent already). Anyhow I was wondering if that was an influence to all of the different versions of Rasalom's names? I wont say them here because some are sort of spoilerish.

Anyone notice in the book Infernal that the chapter for Friday is missing. Page 173 shows the day Thursday and then skips to Saturday on page 201. Also on page 185 if you figure out Jack's translation for the combination for the chest, the actual word he spells out is not Gefreda. It is Gefleda. :confused:

It's not exactly news, but Draculas is now available in trade paperback, but without all the bonus material in the ebook.

My first short story collection (plus some bonus tales) is back in print after 20-some years. Soft & Others is available in all formats.

I got on Netflix today (on the instant watch) and there was The Keep. It was too hard to watch on Youtube, so that solved that. I'm gonna pop me up some corn, grab a brew and watch a butchered novel!!

I was thinking of rereading the Adversary Cycle when I was done with Fatal Error. This will kick it off nicely.

SPOILER ALERTS FOR FATAL ERRORS.....





As often happens, Paul writes a book where a key scene takes place at a venue I recently visited. It happened again in FATAL ERRORS. I'm referring to the scene that takes place on Randall and Ward Islands, under the Triboro Bridge, when Jack is desperately trying to find a way to get his motorcycle to LaGuardia airport to reach Gia and Vicky, and he runs into a couple of thugs along the way. I loved that part of the story; I love Jack's non-Otherness fix-it sort of situations.

A few weeks ago, Liam and I took a very long walk from our place to the northern tip of Randall Island, that's roughly 68th Street to about 128th Street. We walked and walked, got to the Island and were desperate to find a place that sold water, fluids of any sort. We'd made a conscious and foolish decision to not tote water; we assumed, again foolishly, that you could buy water anywhere in the City. Not so on Ward Island. We had to tramp all the way to the tippy top of Randall Island to the golf complex before we found sustenance.

On the way, we marched up the middle of the Island and found ourselves underneath the very long ramps leading to the Triboro Bridge. And fiddle-dee-dee to calling it the RFK Bridge. We saw a big sign reminding people to do that, and I thought what a waste of money to make such a sign.

Part of me wanted to get a picture of the HUGE trestles holding up the ramps, but by that time I was cranky and cross and dying of thirst. We will go back and I'll get a pic, 'cause it's quite a view, in a dark and dangerous sort of way. That space has been used in many movies. It's perfect for the bad guys to take someone there and off them without any interference. It's also visually arresting.

I have shots that show nearly every place that Paul mentions in that scene. I was pumping my fist while reading it. I'll post one here and then create, if I can, an album for the Triboro Bridge/Randall and Ward Island scene. I don't know that I can create more than one album, though. Any one know? Edited to answer my own question: Nope, can't make more than one album.

This picture is me on the southern tip of Ward Island with both the Triboro and the railroad bridge (that's a small replica of the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia!) looming in the background. You can get a sense of the strong and deadly currents of Hell Gate in the water behind me, which Paul also mentions in FATAL ERROR.