It’s that time of year when it seems as if we’re all looking forward to something—holidays, travel, breaks from work and/or school, gathering with people we love (especially after last year, when so many of us “gathered” over Zoom). Here in the U.S., Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and before the meal’s leftovers are consigned to the refrigerator, the shopping season will begin in earnest (if it hasn’t already).

In addition to all the traditional celebrations, here are a few extra things I’m anticipating in the next few weeks:

Monday, November 29, 2021: The next episode of Central Booking will drop—and look who’s joining John Valeri to talk about books, faith, cats, and writing! John is a Connecticut native whose articles appear regularly in Mystery Scene Magazine, among other publications. (This month’s cover story is his interview with bestselling author Patricia Cornwall.) John is also an incredibly sweet guy who loves holiday stories and adores promoting other writers. If you’re not familiar with Central Booking, check it out on YouTube. You’ll be glad you did!

December 1, 2021 (fingers crossed!): My Brother, Romeo will finally be available as an ebook! I’ll let you know if the release date changes, but right now, it looks good.

December 8-24, 2021: The ebook of State v. Claus will be available for the discounted price of $3.99USD on Kobo.com. If you haven’t encountered Kobo before, you’re in for a treat. Like most other e-reading platforms these days, you don’t have to buy Kobo’s dedicated eReader—you can simply download their app and start reading on whatever device you like. (That said, a friend who has Kobo’s eReader loves it, so there’s that to consider.)

December 11, 2021: My wonderful local bookshop, River Bend Bookshop, is holding a holiday market every Saturday between now and Christmas. Among the offerings will be giftwrapping services by local groups (the groups get to keep the tips!), and book signings by local authors. I’ll be signing copies of State v. Claus at 2:00 on the afternoon of December 11, 2021. If you’re in or around Glastonbury, Connecticut, that day, I’d love to have you stop by! ((If you’re not in town that day and you’d still like a signed copy of State v. Claus, see below.)

Now through December 31, 2021: Don’t forget that Tuxedo Cat Press is offering free giftwrapping on all purchases of State v. Claus (paperback)! If you’d like, your purchases can be signed or inscribed, and you can choose between having me write directly in the book or signing a free self-adhesive bookplate that you can place in the book. Shop, sign, wrap, and ship: it doesn’t get easier than this!

So, that’s what’s coming up in the next few weeks. To those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a wonderful holiday with exactly as much togetherness and feasting as you’d like. To everybody else, may you also have much to be thankful for!