The question of spelling Spenser's name has arisen.  I may be the only one who has never mis-spelled it. Spenser, with an S like the English poet (who probably also spelled it right, though they were less picky about spelling in the 16th century). . . . Several have raised a question about who this "Rose" is, to whom NOW & THEN was dedicated. That would be Rosie, Joan's miniature bull terrier, who died at age 14 this past March. She was the model for Sunny Randall's dog. There is a picture of Rose on the back cover of PERISH TWICE . . . It has been suggested that the back list of my books is not available. I believe this is wrong. In paperback, to my best knowledge, all the books are out there. Great Xmas gifts! . . . on the show biz front: APPALOOSA has, I believe, wrapped. Should be ready to go in spring. After that, when it does go is pretty much a marketing decision. If you haven't been paying attention, the cast includes Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Rene Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Lance Hendrickson, and, of course, the brilliant Daniel T. Parker. Harris directs.  The new Jesse Stone movie, THIN ICE, with Tom Selleck doing his usual dandy job,  is tentatively scheduled to air on CBS in February. If that changes I'll issue a blog alert. As for my day job, STRANGER IN PARADISE (Jesse Stone) goes on sale in February. My second YA novel, THE BOXER AND THE SPY appears in May, and RESOLUTION (the sequel to APPALOOSA) comes out in June. I'll be doing a week in Texas (strating June 2) to promote the book. Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Austen, I believe. . . .  Boston is having a particularly good year, weather's good so far. In addition to having the best baseball team in the world, again, we also have, apparently, the best football team, and, incredibly, so far, the best basketball team. It also seems that we have become Hollywood east, or Toronto south, thanks in noticeable part to Dennis Lehane (whose success, of course, I deeply resent) . . . I'll be having my right knee replaced in April.  I had my left knee replaced in 2004, and its working very well, so by the time y'all see me in Texas, you'll think I'm Fred Astaire. . . . And, of course, my annual endorsement of presidential candidates -- Except for John McCain, whom I admire but disagree with, I hope they all lose. . . . Happy Holidays.
rbp

Joan and I have returned from Hollywood. We visited Dan, dined with moguls, and were generally the talk of Tinsel Town. . . several moguls asked