Gorgeous gray day down by the river this morning. Lumpy black clouds sliding under a streaked charcoal-and-white sky. Water high and racing, tide still coming in, lapping at the seawall, rising in wide, fast swells. Seagulls edgy, pushing each other off perches, flying in circles screeching. Cormorants just sitting watching it all.

Today's the on-sale date for ON THE LINE. That used to mean more: it was the date bookstores were allowed to put the book on the shelves, for one thing. It was also the date reviewers could be sure readers would be able to find the book, so they could safely review it without getting angry calls from readers about reviewing a book that couldn't be bought. Now, it doesn't really mean much. Bookstores large and small have been selling the book since they unpacked their boxes day or two ago, and while it hasn't been reviewed in the papers yet, it has on-line, a number of times. If you read an on-line review and the book sounds good to you, after all, you can pre-order it at Amazon, just a click away.

The book's launch party is next week, Oct. 6. The following Monday I leave for a tour; until then, nothing really. Just me sitting here writing the next one. So the pub date doesn't mean what it meant when I started out at this. Still, it's a marker, and I just wanted to mark it here with you guys.