Do you remember those ads for Blackglama furs? I do, although not as well as I remember the Ron Rico rum ads in New York magazine, which I mentioned in WHAT THE DEAD KNOW. I loved those ads, the rum ones, because I wasn't sure what was going on.

Ads are amazing time capsules for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in an era. Researching WTDK, I spent as much time reading ads as I did anything else, especially ads in Seventeen magazine. Bonne Belle! Hope chests! (The discovery of the latter definitely influenced the book, reminded me that some high school girls in the '70s saw marriage as a very real/near thing.)

Well, officially I'm a legend now, so designated by the people who were kind enough to vote in the first-ever Spinetingler Awards. That is, WTDK won in the "best book by a legend" category, which I think is the designation used for any writer who has published more than eight books.

And, yes, this entry is a total cheat, a way to combine this blog's ostensible topic with its recent rash of self-promotion. Sorry, but with a book coming out in -- oh dear, five weeks, the hives should be starting very soon -- it's hard not to highjack this thing.

Speaking of which: Check out The Hoyden, my new BFF.