So, Emerald City went very well, indeed. As always, a great show, lots of wonderful people, and a chance to reconnect with folks that I haven't seen in a while. The fans, as always, were uniformly pleasant and excited -- there seems to be a lot of anticipation for the "Gotham Central reunion" that'll be the four issues of Daredevil I'm doing with Ed and Michael.

On a business end it went well, too, though, again, I'm embargoed on what I can, and can't, talk about. Looks like a new project got locked down, which is good. Most likely that'll see print in early '09, maybe February. I have to admit that I'm getting a little frustrated about not being able to share the things I'm working on. Only a few more months until several of the cats I've been hoarding get to leave their respective bags.

Of the many highlights for me, though, was finally getting to meet Philip Tan in person. Up until now, we've been communicating on the phone and via email, so it was great to finally be face-to-face. He confirmed my worst suspicions: not only is he frighteningly talented, it turns out he's really, really, really nice. He's also incredibly enthusiastic, which is even better -- when the artist is charged up about the project, it's infectious. Philip was also kind enough to do the first sketch in my new "Question-themed" sketchbook. ( I think it came out pretty damn well. )

Saw Southworth and his terrific lady, Michelle. The Stumptown pages are really cooking. I feel bad for the workload we've put him under; you do work-for-hire, you're already dealing with established characters, for the most part, reference readily available. Matthew's got to invent everything from scratch, and especially with the first couple issues, that means designing and detailing not only the regular cast, but also all of the regular sets. He's got an attention to detail that's terrific, and that I think will serve the book very well, indeed. He, James Lucas, and I, got to talk a little bit, and we're pushing back the launch to October. Better that we have everything ready than to rush it, we agreed, and frankly, none of us wants the book coming out with the delays I caused on Queen & Country. Flip-side is that Matthew and I are going to try to work on an eight-pager for distribution at San Diego, along with some other promotional material.

And I got to see Lieber's art for issue one of Whiteout: Night, though only briefly. The irony in having to go to a con in Seattle to see what he's been working on didn't escape either of us, but we're both so damn busy here, we barely have a chance to connect. We've resolved to change that. So I suppose I ought to call him, huh? I'm always amazed looking at Steve's work; there's such an effortlessness to his detail and character, and I know he puts hours in to make it appear so, but the effect is striking.

I'm grinding away on three different scripts this week, trying to get them all squared away before returning to the novel. Had a come-to-Jesus with my editor and agent last week, after sending off the first 35K words or so, and my editor was effusive (though she's yet to receive pages from me an say "this is utter crap", so I take it with a grain of salt). Looks like we're on the right track. I'd rather have sent the whole manuscript, to be frank, but as I was toying with a somewhat radical (or at least, from Bantam's end, unexpected) change in style, both David and I felt Kate needed fair warning. Turns out it was a wise move, but she's for it, which makes moving forward easier. I'll resume the keyboard punching in earnest early next week, I suspect, once research for this new section is completed.

And now...work.

I'm actually not certain what the release date is for the mass market edition of Patriot Acts, but my agent forwarded the cover today. It's a subtle variation on the original hardcover version. I like it.

( Take a look below the cut. )

The EW blurb is kinda neat; always fun being compared to a swiss watch.

Headed up to Seattle tomorrow for the Emerald City ComicCon. I'll be at a table with Jen and mercuryeric. I'll have some books to sell, stories to tell, and if it goes well, all will be swell.

I'm very sorry about that last sentence, and I beg your immediate forgiveness.

There's a DC Nation panel on Saturday, from 1 to 2 pm in "Panel Room A," which I suspect I'll be asked to sit on. Dan DiDio is out for the show this year, so if nothing else, he'll be endlessly entertaining as he frustrates fans. As for my part, I've actually got no idea if I'll be up there, because just about everything I'm doing for DC is still under information embargo at the moment, which inevitably leads to me repeating, over and over again, "I can't answer that." So maybe I'll be the one who's endlessly frustrating.

Oni Press will be well-represented at the show, as well, and Sunday from 11 to 12, again in "Panel Room A," they'll be having their Quiz Show. Apparently, I'm on that as well, along with Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley, and Jennfer Van Meter, who, for those of you who still haven't figured it out, is the same Jen from Paragraph One, above. Bryan's very talented wife, Hope Larson, will be at the show, as well.

I like this show; Jim Demonakos has done a terrific job with it, and it's one of my favorite of the circuit, one of the few I actually get excited about attending every year. The Portland Crowd tends to be pretty thick in attendance, as well, including most -- if not all -- of the Periscope Studio crew. I'll also get to see Matthew Southworth, which is great, because Stumptown is inching its way ever-closer to a release; we're hoping for the first issue in September.

Work is continuing apace. The novel has reached a crossroads. Should know which direction I'm taking it in the next two days, and once that's decided, then it's just a matter of typing the draft as fast as I can. I'm running about two weeks behind (according to my personal schedule), and I'm eager to make it up, as other work (primarily comics works) is back-burnered for the time being.

Philip Tan -- who will also be at the show this weekend! -- is continuing to deliver amazing pages on FC:R. I get leery of posting stuff without permission, but if you've checked out his blog, you can see some of his work-in-progress.

Back home after Calgary. Very nice show. Figured out how to solve a problem I was having with the new novel, and in the process discovered a new character who I quite like. Not sure how she'll play out, but she's fun to write, and she's keeping Atticus on his toes.

The Russia/Georgia thing is continuing to get virtual ink. kali921, thoughts?

And then there's the big event this weekend, what Gabo herself calls "the happiest day of the year", Free Comic Book Day. Bride, myself, and the children will be at Gabi's Olympic Cards and Comics from noon until...until rather late, I expect. Dashiell and Elliot are both intending to come in costume. I may post pictures. I may not. I may dare to eat a peach.

So, this story has been slowly escalating over the last week. Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and this...I'm really hoping I won't have to tag a disclaimer on the new novel saying "This was before the war."

And in entertainment news, the new Bond film is having consistent car trouble.

I'm leaving for Calgary at oh-dark-thirty tomorrow morning, to attend the Calgary Comic Expo. I've heard nothing but good things about this show from everyone I know who's ever attended it, and I'm quite looking forward to it. Hoping to score some Avatar: The Last Airbender swag for the kids, maybe a sketch or two.

Of course, this means I'll be missing the Stumptown Comics Fest for the second year in a row, which means, once more, I'll be out of town while Matthew Southworth is actually here. I'm getting a little worried that he thinks I'm avoiding him.

Last note -- Checkmate chat with meself and mercuryeric at ComicBloc tonight, don't forget!

There's an interview with me up at Newsarama right now about the next thing with my name on it that'll be coming out from DC, Final Crisis: Revelations. Look for a companion interview with the amazing Philip Tan, as well. If you've seen any of his art, then you'll understand why I'm willing to use the word "amazing" to describe it.

So we have an official announcement, now, of at least one of the things I'm working on, Final Crisis: Revelation, five issues of 30 pages each, Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya sharing pages again, though each of them in a much-altered form. The Spectre and The Question. Has to go down in history as one of the all-time oddest team-ups ever, which is probably one of the reasons why I'm enjoying writing it so much. First issue is out in August, I believe, so yes, it's a wait, but I think it'll be well-worth it.

( Here's a little taste of what Philip's doing. )

While we're on the topic, the ancillary material for the The Question: The Five Books of Blood hardcover that's coming out in June was finalized on Monday; we've included some six pages in the back about the Montoya Journal, including images of a couple of the props that didn't make the final cut for inclusion. I've written some commentary about the journal, the process, the ideas behind it, and the like. For those of you who were intrigued by that particular flight of fancy, it's definitely Value Added Content.

I promised a couple of posts back to explain the quiet that has descended here... and it's going to be relatively quiet for another month or so as I finish the draft of the tentatively-entitled new Kodiak novel, The Walking Dead. That's priority right now, and until I get out of the Very Dark Place that is this novel, I'm not going to have a whole lot I want to share, or even will feel like talking about, I suspect.

A week from today, on the 24th, mercuryeric and I will be doing a live chat at the ComicBloc Foum, starting at 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific. I expect it'll last 90 minutes or so, but it may run longer. If you're not registered at the 'Bloc, I believe you'll have to be to participate, but I could be wrong, as I've yet to actually do a chat there.

And then there's The Blue Religion, a new short-story collection edited by the blazingly-talented Michael Connelly, including shorts by the man himself, Laurie R. King, Alafair Burke, and many others. I'm one of the others, and the short is entitled "Contact and Cover." Fans of A Fistful of Rain might want to check this out, as the story is told by Tracy Hoffman, and gives a little insight into what her life on the job was like before making detective.

( Here's the cover for the collection. )

Finally, an unsolicited endorsement. Find E. Benjamin Skinner's book A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face With Modern-Day Slavery.

Buy this book.

Read this book.

Read the parts that make your heart break. Read the parts that make your eyes burn. Read the parts that twist your stomach.

Read this book.

Then find someone else, and make them read this book.

And while they're reading it, get to work, and any way you can, in any of the ways that Skinner suggests, join this fight.

I just realized that, by 15K words in the new novel, I've already racked up a body-count of 8.

Not sure what to make of that, frankly.

My brother sent me this link this morning. Disappointing, but, I suppose, not surprising. Thing is, I've been a fan of the Lonely Planet guides for years now, ever since I realized that the chances of me actually getting down to the Ice while researching the first Whiteout were pretty much nil. They had the only guidebook on Antarctica that I ever found.

Ever since then, I've relied on their titles pretty heavily to provide broad secondary research for the many travels of Atticus, Chace, and others.

Another reminder of the need to practice due-diligence, I suppose. Gonna have to read this guy's book, I think....

Edited to add: Accusations refuted, though I'd think that's to be expected.

Along with a slew of other local Portland crime and mystery type writers, I'll be at the Powell's Books in Beaverton this evening, from 7:00pm until around 9:00pm or so. It's looking to be a very relaxed signing-slash-Q&A, with questions moderated by the Very Tall John Walsdorf, of Friends of Mystery, an Oregon mystery fan association. Friends of Mystery give out the Spotted Owl award. I've never won, but I like John, anyway. Couple of my favorite local writers will be there, as well, including Ed Goldberg and Lono Waiwaiole, amongst others.

I know it's short notice -- I've been remiss in promoting this (hell, I haven't said ANYTHING about my participation in this new anthology published by the MWA and edited by the terrifyingly good Michael Connelly).

Anyway, for a write-up of the Powell's event and a full list of attendees, take a clicky-click here.

I'm waiting for a cab to take me to that airport for this.

If any of y'all are going to be stopping by, please let me know!