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!

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.)

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.

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!