I'm talking with my agent tomorrow about the manuscript of my third novel. The last month and a half have been something of a break from fiction writing while he has had the manuscript and I've held off on doing anything very drastic until I hear back from him. What did I do with my suddenly free time (at least free mental time)? For one, I started thinking about what book four might look like. There's no point getting into specifics now because things will inevitably change in either major or minor ways, but it's important to have some basic ideas about plot, themes, and character(s) to rattle around in my head when I have a chance.

I've also been doing some freelance editing, vacationing, seeing my daughter in the Wizard of Oz (3 times so far), shuttling children to this camp or that, and, of course, my actual job. In the meantime, Iambik has released the audiobook of The Vaults with Michael Agostini narrating. It's a funny thing listening to someone else read/interpret the words that you've written, particularly the voices of characters that you have always imagined sounding a certain way. Michael, I thought, did a great job. You can purchase the audio download for $6.99 at their website.

Finally, tomorrow will be six weeks from launch date for Scorch City. That gives a handful of you 42 days to get through A Dance With Dragons. If you are on the mailing list, you should be getting an email soon. If you aren't, email me at toby(at)tobyball.com and I'll put you on.

Movie recommendation: Exit Through the Gift Shop. Trust me.