This has been a crazy, wonderful, nerve-wracking week for me. (Well, will have been. I’m typing this on Saturday, September 10th, for reasons which will soon become obvious.)

My fifth novel, RED RIGHT HAND, was released on Tuesday. It’s the second in my Michael Hendricks thriller series, after last year’s THE KILLING KIND. So far, folks seem to dig it. It earned stars from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, and a rave from the Press Herald. Barnes & Noble named it one of their Best New Thrillers of September. And my Grandma quite enjoyed it… or so she said on Facebook. (Sidebar: only a writer could possibly be insecure enough to doubt a grandparent’s praise.)

On Thursday, travel gods willing, I flew to New Orleans for Bouchercon, where THE KILLING KIND is (was?) up for three awards: the Barry Award for Best Thriller, the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, and the Anthony Award for Best Novel.

The Barry and the Macavity were given out on Thursday night, so by the time you read this, I’m either elated to’ve won or honored to’ve been considered. (No, really. I’m up against some damn fine books by authors I truly admire. Much as I’d love to win, I’m just happy to be in the club.)

Tonight—not last Saturday when I wrote this post tonight, Friday when it went live tonight (keeping this post straight in my head is like trying to map out the timeline of the Terminator franchise)—the Anthony Awards will be given out, so I’m almost certainly a basket case right now (your right now, that is). Keep a good thought for me if you’re so inclined.

Oh, and on top of all that (good) stress, I’ve got a panel to moderate, another to participate in, and a wife to cheer on from the front row of her panel.

I’m not the only MCWer at B’con, of course. Barbara Ross, Bruce Robert Coffin, and Richard Cass are here, too (unless me writing this ahead of time jinxed them). If you’re reading this at B’con and would like to track us down, a) you can find our schedules here, and b) HOW THE HECK DID YOU CARVE OUT ENOUGH DOWNTIME TO READ A BLOG POST?!

Speaking of Bruce, I’m also not the only one who had a book come out this week. His excellent debut novel, AMONG THE SHADOWS, is now available! If you’re a fan of killer mysteries with strong Maine ties (a safe bet for readers of this blog), do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today.