NEXT STOP: ANN ARBOR; NEXT BOOK...

Saturday at 1:30 p.m. I'll be at Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor with author Mark Terry who'll be launching his novel, "The Fallen" (cake is promised).

PRINT THE LEGEND is a month and three-days-old, now.

Since the novel's launch, more than a thousand miles has been covered to push the book.

Michigan will, more or less, wrap up the core of the PRINT tour. It's been some ride — beyond just the road: the book's editor switched publishers shortly before launch... Then the great Macmillan/Amazon wars ensued and PRINT was unavailable from that online venue for many weeks.

As a result of some of these changes, there's also been a switch in publishing plans.

One of the advantages/oddities of having written an entire series before the first book was even a year-old is the luxury of picking and choosing releases.

I suspect I'm setting some kind of quirky book publishing history with this unprecedented game of musical chairs in terms of the next novel.

PRINT THE LEGEND's follow-up was originally going to be a novel set in 1958 Nashville. A novel envisioned as the last in the series.

A course correction was made shortly before my former editor left Minotaur and we decided to go with a World War II novel which has been talked up a bit on this tour when asked the inevitable question, "What's next?"

Plans appear to be changing again, and with the blessing of my new editor, Kat Brzozowski, we are likely going to go with still another novel for number four — one that will, essentially, restore the series to my originally envisioned publication sequence and conclude what is, in a sense, the Hemingway trilogy contained within the eight book Hector Lassiter series.

It's also a novel that introduces the pivotal woman in Hector Lassiter's turbulent life.

It's a novel that was written immediately on the heels of my second novel, TOROS & TORSOS and is a kind of spiritual brother to that book. Similar in tone and voice. It's also a novel I'm particularly fond of.

More on all this coming soon...although if you show up in Michigan tomorrow, and pose the question, you may learn more.

To give you some sense of where in the world we're headed next, I leave you with this image of a key character from Lassiter #4:



And a musical clue, too:



Hope to see you in Ann Arbor tomorrow... Oh, and limited edition chapbooks to the first 30 who buy copies of PRINT THE LEGEND.

HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE

Today at 1 p.m. is the Books & Co. @ The Greene signing for the second stop on the Ohio leg of the PRINT THE LEGEND tour. Copies of the limited edition chapbook, "Colt," containing the short story in which Hector get's his iconic Peacemaker will be available. And, in a rare, one-time-only appearance, this collector's item's young illustrators will be available to sign their Day-of-the Dead-style work.

Wednesday night brought the show to Foul Play bookstore in Westerville, OH, where seats were scarce and the questions and readers a real delight. Thanks to everyone who packed the store this past Wednesday night.

Also, today I'm guest-blogging at Lesa's Book Critiques.

An interview conducted by the very sharp Keith Rawson during my visit to Arizona is now available in two parts here and here.

Mystery Scene has weighed in on PRINT THE LEGEND, noting, “McDonald skillfully and ingeniously mixes fact with fiction…McDonald’s background as a journalist and crime fiction critic helps him to piece together an intriguing literary thriller.”

Spinetingler's take on PRINT here.

Next week it's Ann Arbor, MI, and Aunt Agatha's for a March 20 signing at 1:30 p.m.

OFF ROAD, FOR NOW

"The road it gives, and the road it takes away."—Tom Russell

The plane-phase of the PRINT THE LEGEND book tour has officially wound down.

So it's a quiet weekend home after Saturday/Sunday sorties to various parts of Texas (cold and cloudy) and the deserts of Arizona (unusually steady and hard rains).

Met a lot of great readers and fellow writers who asked very thoughtful and probing questions about Hector Lassiter and the three novels — questions that revealed some extremely deep reading on the part of those fine folks. Deepest thanks to those who came out.

Along the way, there were travel complications: a near collision with a coyote on the night run between Houston and Austin (in a recently recalled rental Toyota Camry, to boot)...a night of being held prisoner in an airport hotel with stingy vouchers and no luggage when a connecting flight from Austin to Dallas was missed because of mechanical problems...

As a former author interviewer, I've observed a number of authors beaten down by the road — and one who actually cracked under the pressure of aggressive touring. Can now see from just a small taste of the book tour grind how it could dismantle a person pretty handily. It's a punishing pace.

The great thing is meeting folks like Scott Montgomery, who has made BookPeople in Austin a crime fiction author must-attend venue...hanging with David and McKenna at Murder by the Book and meeting the great crime fiction fans in both cities.



Arizona brought renewed contact with Patrick Millikin and Poisoned Pen Bookstore. (Patrick's also the editor of the Edgar-nominated PHOENIX NOIR). I also got to spend some time with writer/reviewer/interviewer Keith Rawson and reconnected with Marcia and Bill Thomspon. Marcia and me worked together for many years at my hometown paper and they graciously made the run from Tonto Basin to Poisoned Pen, treating me to a great steak, conversation and an evening of touring Scottsdale/Phoenix.

Also finally got to shake the hand of author Garnett Elliott. Garnett wrote an excellent, fierce short story, "Trailer de Fuego," that I selected for a "Borderland Noir" edition of Hardluck stories a few years back.

If you can't make it to any of the announced sites to get your signed copies of PRINT THE LEGEND, you can contact any of the stores on this list. Some may still have some copies of the limited edition giveaway chapbook of the short story "Colt" which reveals the origins of Hector's gun and the author who carried that Roscoe before Hector inherited the Peacemaker.

Nearly every Barnes & Noble in Columbus, OH also now has signed/inscribed copies of PRINT THE LEGEND, too.

Wednesday, March 10 officially kicks off the "automobile" phase of the Print the Legend tour with a 7 p.m. appearance at Foul Play in Westerville, Ohio.


From there we move on to Books & Company in Dayton on Saturday, March 13.

On March 20, I'll be signing with Mark Terry at Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 1:30 p.m.

Looking a bit further down the road, there'll be an appearance at the Marysville Public Library's Author Series on May 18.

On July 28, I'll be appearing as part of a literary picnic series at the historic Thurber House in Columbus, OH.

That's about it on the touring front for the moment. For now, some strange Americana spotted along the Borderland's phase of the PRINT THE LEGEND tour:

WESTWARD WE GO…AGAIN

Last weekend it was a whirlwind tour through Texas…and a miserable Sunday-into-Monday stranded at Love Field in Dallas when an American Airlines craft was taken off line, causing a cascade effect for flyers trying to make Midwest connections.

This weekend, it’s a return to the desert for a signing at Poisoned Pen Books in Scottsdale, Saturday at 2 p.m.

It feels a little like returning to the scene of a fondly remembered crime…and a bit surreal. Maybe a little bittersweet, too.

Last time heading out that way, and to that bookstore, I was about halfway through the composition of HEAD GAMES, the 2007 novel that became an eventual Edgar/Anthony finalist. The year was March, 2005.

The writing of HEAD GAMES was interrupted to fly out to Arizona to meet and interview Ken Bruen, who was then touring for THE MAGDLANE MARTYRS; also to meet and interview Arizona resident and novelist /poet/translator/musician/educator James Sallis.

Those two resulting interviews form the narrative heart of my second collection of author interviews, ROGUE MALES, released last year by Bleak House Books.

That time into the desert, I sat in the audience, watching Ken Bruen discuss his novel.

James Sallis and publisher/James Crumley chum Dennis McMillan showed up for the reading. After the event, everyone headed out with Poisoned Pen’s Patrick Millikin (editor of the excellent Akashic release, PHOENIX NOIR) for some Mexican food and deep book talk.

This time, I’ll be sitting on the other side of the table, discussing PRINT THE LEGEND, the second book in the series that began with HEAD GAMES. Increasing that sense of surrealism: instead of conducting any interviews, I'll be interviewed by the great Keith Rawson.

It’s going to be a largely solo lobo sojourn there in the Valley of the Sun, this round: Ken Bruen’s back in Ireland, and James Sallis will be performing with his band, Three-Legged Dog, about a 100 miles due north.

If you’re in the area, please drop by the store at 2 p.m.

The first 30 people who buy PRINT THE LEGEND at the store will also receive a free copy of the limited edition chapbook, “COLT,” containing an original, exclusive Hector Lassiter short story.

The chapbook features young Hector Lassiter, a dying famous writer, and this particular 1873 Peacemaker…

Patrick M's take on PRINT THE LEGEND:

McDonald, Craig. Print the Legend (St Martins $25 Feb. 18). Patrick writes: “Craig McDonald has really come into his own with this book. The time is 1965, four years after Ernest Hemingway died from a shotgun blast. Academics are scrambling to build their careers on the old man’s missing manuscripts, and the keynote speaker at a gathering of Hemingway nuts is none other than Hector Lassiter, crime writer, adventurer and one of Papa’s best friends. Back in the 20’s the two were fixtures in the expat literary/art scene in Paris and now, Lassiter discovers that some of his own missing work has reappeared. As he probes into things, the aging writer discovers a conspiracy from way back involving the FBI and another wannabe writer named Creedy (Salieri to Hemingway’s Mozart) bent on quashing Jazz era decadence and Papa’s work in particular. And now, a young professor is claiming that Hemingway was actually murdered by his wife, Mary. This is an intelligent, rip roaring yarn that will appeal to fans of Loren Estleman and James Carlos Blake. My highest recommendation.” Hardboiled Club Pick Head Games ($15) was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Gumshoe Best First Novel Awards.

MOE ON PRINT THE LEGEND

Doug Moe interviewed me last Friday about the new novel when I was holed up in a hotel room in chilly, wind-swept Galveston, Texas.

The results of that talk can be found in today's Wisconsin State Journal.

THINGS I'D RATHER BE DOING

A record-setting fourth interview with John Kenyon at his site, Thing's I'd Rather Be Doing.

John was the first to interview me, several years ago, when my first collection of author interviews, Art in the Blood, was just finding its way into the world.

This one focuses on the newest novel, Print the Legend, of course, but also delves into the longstanding debate between literary and genre fiction, as well.

This interview was conducted over the weekend while touring in Texas, in this case, looking out over Galveston Bay, birthplace of crime novelist Hector Lassiter.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

We wrapped up the Houston launch of the Print the Legend tour last evening about six p.m. Grateful thanks to Dave and McKenna, all the great folks at Murder by the Book and to the good readers of Texas who attended.

Murder by the Book will be offering signed copies of Print and several other titles, along with limited edition copies of the Hector Lassiter short story, "Colt," while supplies last.

After the first reading was over, it was into the rental Toyota (prayers appreciated!) for a night run across Texas to Austin for today's appearance. Somewhere along 71, near the first Waco exit, a coyote ran across our path. (I know black cats are bad news; can some folklorist pony up the dope on the implications of a near-miss with a path-crossing coyote?)

We blew through the Austin city limts a bit after nine and then hit a hotel that's packed with underwear- and body-paint-clad reveling young ones who've bingely transitioned from Mardi Gras to carnival revelery.

Today at 2 p.m., the Print the Legend tour moves to BookPeople in Austin...Texas' largest independent bookstore. Looking forward to meeting Scott Montgomery and all the great people at this teriffic store. Then it's another road run to the airport and back to The Snows of Ohio.

The Print the Legend tour will resume on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Arizona at Poisoned Pen.

Staying with the country music theme of these Texas posts, the microphone is passed from Glen Cambell to Kris Kristofferson (born in Brownsville, TX) in concert on Austin City Limits, singing "Here Comes That Rainbow Again." This is a rather obscure Kristofferson tune inspired by a scene in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The lyrics incorporate actual dialogue from Steinbeck's novel.

And just to bring this all around full circle, Steinbeck was one of several major American authors of the 20th Century relentelessly hounded with FBI surveillance under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover's pursuit of American novelists, particulary of Ernest Hemingway, is a major theme of Print the Legend.

And, so, the circle is complete: