I hit the critical page 300 milestone today in Remove from Circulation (aka the Librarian book). Watson is finalizing his evil (yet sympathtic plans) and Ryan and Sophia are thinking about sex. Having people think about sex when they really should be taking steps to stop the nuclear destruction of Dallas is a bit of a challenge, but human biology does offer some advantages. Page 300 is critical because the book is now officially done-able, meaning pretty much whenever I finish it, it's a finished novel. Shorter than that and it's not really a novel at all--it's something else, not sure what.

After completing my pages, Karen and I went for a walk and discovered that fall had abruptly ended with the return of summer. It was hot and sticky once more. So we returned home and I composed my first video review for Amazon. It's for the Palm III xe, which happens to be the Palm computer I use. I like my Palm. It's a nice size, has a lid that keeps it safe from getting scratched in my pocket, and its reflective screen works fine in daylight as well as under artificial lights (many handheld units and laptops wash out in sunlight). I paid $50 for it. I think today, you should be able to get it for maybe $25 or $30. If you can, do. The 8MB is enough for maybe 20 eBooks. Here's a link to my review on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PalmOne-IIIxe-Handheld-Pocket-Quicken/dp/B00004SQMG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9871445-2785611?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192677419&sr=8-1 If you decide to check it out, feel free to give it a 'helpful' vote. It may not show, but I actually did a lot of cutting and splicing to make it shorter and to eliminate some of my 'ah's.' I also wrote a review of Tracy Garrett's debut novel, TOUCH OF TEXAS which was very good. Here's my review: www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2007/touch_texas.html. Now I'm reading REAL VAMPIRES LIVE LARGE by Gerry Bartlett.

I also started edits on the latest version of Anthony Perham's third novel in the English Detective series, A Full English Problem. I loved this book from the first time I read it, and I'm loving it even more after the rewrites and polishing that Anthony has done. I'm editing very light--just a few typos and punctuation, mostly, and going pretty fast. With luck, I'll actually be able to publish this in October, on schedule. And speaking of publishing, tomorrow is the big day for DEADLY TRADE by Michael Pauslon. This latest novel in Paulson's hard-boiled Deacon Bishop series is a very strong entry with a great cover (see yesterday's blog). It'll be on sale for only $1 for its first month of availability, so be sure to come back tomorrow to grab it.

If you waited until now to buy CARPATHIAN SHADOWS, you've waited too long. As soon as I'm done with the blog, I'm heading over to end the introductory pricing and raise the price to its standard $3.99 level. It's still a bargain--I mean, where else can you buy an entire novel-length work for $3.99. That's what, less than two English Pounds, less than three Euros.

I'm going to make KORINNA by Kristina O'Donnelly the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Set in the last days of the Roman Republic, the Republic's final great enemy, Mithridates attempts to take advantage of Roman civil war to create a new power in the east. To do so, he resorts to genocide, and Korinna, daughter of the temples, is caught in the midst of this great power struggle. O'Donnelly combines history, magic, and powerful characters in a fascinating exploration. Good stuff and it's only $3.99. Learn more, read the excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here (available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat, Mobipocket, Palm DOC, and Microsoft Reader formats): www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2006/korinna.html. Here's the cover:

rob