You see that name up there? At the top of the screen? Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer? Well, that's me. So you'd think this was my website or something. Yeah, I know it's stevehockensmith.com, but still. There it is, big as life. My name.
But it's that Hockensmith feller who's really in charge around here. Mostly because I don't know what "HTML" is. Hitmill? Hutemil? Damn, I don't even know how to pronounce it. And apparently you've got to understand it to run one of these "blog" thingies.
So I just pop in here whenever Hockensmith puts out the call for me, really. And today I got the message: "I haven't posted anything in over a week, Big Red, and I still don't have anything to say. Could you throw something on the blog? I'm going over the first pass pages for the next book and I really don't have time to mess with the website right now. Thanks!"
Alright. Here I am, though I've got no idea what "first pass pages" are and I'm kind of busy myself writing the next next book and I don't think I've got anything to say, either. I don't know...maybe y'all would appreciate some updates? On my current doin's and such?
Well, I'm just gonna hope you do, cuz that's all I've got to fall back on. Here's the skinny.
The next book is called The Crack in the Lens. It takes place in San Marcos, Texas. In it, Old Red and I address some unfinished business from my brother's past. If you read The Black Dove, you should be able to guess what that business is. (If you haven't read The Black Dove, it comes out in paperback May 12 -- and you oughta be ashamed of yourself!) Crack' ll hit stores July 21.
The next next book is called (at the moment) World's Greatest Sleuth!. And yeah -- that extra exclamation point there ain't just me messin' up the Hitmill. It's actually part of the title of the book. I've always wanted to write something with an exclamation point in the name (hey, it worked for SYLS!), and this seemed like the time to do it. Sleuth! is set at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and it should come out...well, sometime in 2010. July, most likely.
Boy, can you believe there's a year coming up called "2010"? Sounds like something out of Jules Verne, don't it?
Anyway, after Sleuth!...alright, I don't rightly now. Hopefully, I'll move on to the next next next book, which'll be about I don't know what and be set I don't know where and should come out I don't know when.
Ask for it by name.
Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer
March 18, 1893





