From Blood which has been getting enthusiastic reviews in the U.K. and other parts of the English-speaking world, now has an American publisher. Vantage Point Books will issue the novel in April 2012. Pre-order it now from your favorite bookstore or from Amazon. Ed, meanwhile, is starting on his next one, as yet untitled. It is set in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and, like From Blood, features a female protagonist.

Los Angeles' Mystery Bookstore is gone. The store that for years provided a haven for mystery writers and a warm and welcoming place for readers has fallen victim to the economics of publishing and selling books. It started as the Mysterious Bookshop West, an annex of the famous New York store, then went independent. From the beginning, first under manager Sheldon McArthur and later under Bobby McCue and assistant manager Linda Brown, it was known as a place where unknown writers might energize their careers with the help of the store’s expert and enthusiastic staff. Ed was one of those, and he owes Shelly, Bobby, and Linda an enormous debt. When he walked into the store one day for a signing and Linda called out cheerily, "There’s an author in the house!", he never forgot those words or the feeling they gave him. There were dedicated book people in the house too, some of the world’s very best.

The good news is that Shelly, Bobby and Linda are still around and still part of the community of people who love books. The bad news. . . well, the bad news is that 1036 Broxton Avenue is now just an address.

Ed talked with book blogger Stuart Aken about writing, publishing, inspirations, distractions, grammar, spelling, and his favorite of the characters he's come up with so far. (It's not John Ray Horn.) For a look at the November 2010, interview, go to Stuart Aken's blog here.

Clea's Moon and While I Disappear, the first two novels in the John Ray Horn series, are now ebooks. They are available from the publisher, Untreed Reads, in several formats for reading on personal computers or portable readers such as the Kindle. To order the electronic version or to sample the first chapter of either book, click here.