This was the sign on the door of the lodge I stayed at over the Holidays. It was in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. There was so much snow overnight I had to evacuate my room. The wing I was staying in is hit by avalanches and me and the other guests congregated in the lobby. Some of us were in our pajamas. None of us could leave--by order of the mayors office, no less. The front door was chained closed. For the next four hours people chatted, drank coffee, sat by the fire and watched the snow through thick windows. I was almost sorry when the avalanche watch was lifted. Being sealed in a building in your PJs for a morning is fun.

In other news, the paperback edition of Watcher of the Dead should be hitting the shelves in a bookstore near you pretty soon. Id be glad if you could help spread the word, tell friends or write an online review. Also, if youre in the US, you can get the entire Book of Words trilogy as an ebook for $8.99. At three dollars a book thats a pretty fantastic deal.

Finally, I'll be in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8th-10th, attending Oddcon, which is a SF convention that is open to the public. Come and see me. Cheers, JV