As Leaving the Tribe's release date nears, the world and my own story scare me more and more. What will happen when this administration is gone? Will the country choose wisely? Will they find some sort of common ground? Will they find a candidate who won't take advantage of precedents set, like ignoring the Constitution, refusing to allow Congress to make law, and treating the opposition with disrespect and even treasonous harassment?

Those are the questions that prompted the book. Though the...

The last few days before a book launches are torture for me. I worry about what I've done wrong. I fuss over wording and just about everything else. I know it's ready, but it's hard to let go.

Then I ask myself, "What did you just read?" It was a "suspense" novel so ridiculous, so right down silly, that I almost didn't finish. The plot was so complicated for a while that I looked at the reviews to see if it was just me. Nope. Others, even those who liked it said they were "a little confused...

Take a look at the picture. That was supposed to be postcards that I send to hundreds of libraries when a new book comes out. The plan was to streamline the process... But no. When they involve technology, my plans seldom work.

Here's the background: To get printing like this done, I've always gone to an OfficeMax that's 50 miles from me, waited while the guy prints my stuff, and then trundled back home with my postcards. Lately they've been so busy that I can't always get the work done on the...