The Last Mile in Savvy Verse and Wit

Thank you to Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit for her review of The Last Mile.

Here's the link!

Q&A with yours truly

I chatted recently with Ashland Creek Press about my books and when I might at long last shed life lived in shadows...

link

The Last Mile in The Daily Tidings

The Tidings is the local Ashland newspaper. And, because most of you now know that Ashland was the inspiration for Lithia, it's nice to see book three mentioned by the paper.

Here's the link.

Last but not least

The Last Mile is now available from Amazon and any other bookstore by request.

What a long, strange journey it has been. I hope you like this closing chapter of the Lithia Trilogy.

And whatever will I write about next...

The Last Mile gets its first review

Kirkus has reviewed all three books in the series and here is an excerpt from review number three:

"One (OK, three) of a kind for readers who prefer their fantasy tinted green, with fangs that sink into grains, not veins."
—Kirkus Reviews

The book is coming soon!

PS: You can also download a free sample.

Download a free sample of The Last Mile

So the web page is live for my final book of The Lithia Trilogy.

And now you can  download a free sample from the book. Look for the download link under the book cover image.

I hope you like it.

Why the pen name?

I came across this article in the New Yorker on pen names and I felt it was worth a moment to explain why I use a pen name.

That's right. For those of you who might not be aware, Blair Richmond is not my real name.

First of all, why the name Blair Richmond?

I love the name. Names of funny things becuase you carry them around with you all your life and yet you never had a choice in the matter of selecting that name. You can change clothing, cities, spouses, homes, but your name remains. Unless you change it, which is what I decided to do..

I realize I'm dating myself but I remember watching the actor Blair Underwood on Law & Order and, well, I suppose the name just stuck with me over the years. And because the name Blair can comfortably be either male or female, it was a good fit for me. As for Richmond, that will remain a secret.

Now, why do I use a pen name?

I prefer anonymity.

I live in Southern Oregon. I frequent the town of Ashland -- the inspiration for Lithia -- as well as the hiking trails that snake up into the hills. And I like walking around these parts and not being seen as the author of Out of Breath or The Ghost Runner. People often look at authors differently, and will sometimes censor themselves for fear of finding themselves ending up in the author's next great title. Anonymity frees me from feeling like I have to write a certain way or for a certain audience. I know several people who would be quite surprised if they discovered that the person they knew also happened to write YA fiction.

Anonymity does have its drawbacks. These books are more or less out there in the world on their own. Promotion is a huge part of being an author -- and, apart from this infrequently updated blog, I'm about as lousy as promotion as one can be.

My publisher would certainly love me go on a speaking tour one of these days!

And maybe I will.

But for the near future I'm going to remain hidden behind a pen name.

The Last Mile -- Book Three of the Lithia Trilogy -- is coming this fall

 

The Last Mile: Coming in October

It feels so good to get this off my chest!

The Last Book; The Last Name

I promised to announce the title of the last book -- and my publisher says I can announce it...

well, not yet...

but soon! Very soon!

Thank you for your patience

For the past six months I've felt like one of those computer voices you hear while waiting to speak to a customer service rep.

Thank you for your patience...


I've fielded so many emails over the past year from readers wanting to know about that third and elusive book and the best I could offer was a "thank you for your patience."

Now I'm happy to report that the manuscript is at the publisher and in production.

Title yet to be announced.

If everything moves along as scheduled, the book should be published this fall. To be notified of the exact date, you can sign up here.

So, to you dear reader, thank you for your patience!