Got two advance books from Bantam yesterday -- the real thing, finished, dust jacket and all! It's real! And if you ask me, it's gorgeous. But that may be like asking parents if their children are good looking.

You'd think I'd be used to this. After all, ABSENT FRIENDS is my ninth book. But right up until you hold the thing in your hand, you only know it's real intellectually. Now I know it's real viscerally. It's a big, big thrill.