Keller’s Page

January 24, 2013
Here’s a newsletter that just went out to the Philatelic list:

Ah, hello there, and Happy New Year. I suspect most of you know that there’s a new Keller novel coming out next month, the fifth to feature the philatelic assassin. Some of you no doubt read the extract that ran in American Stamp Dealer & Collector. And many of you have already ordered the Philatelic Edition of Hit Me—as I write these lines, we have only 102 copies left of the 500 printed.

I’ll be sending out a newsletter to the full mailing list shortly, with information on how to order the regular trade edition of Hit Me, and announcements of Keller short stories newly eVailable. But first, just for Philatelic Newsletter subscribers, I thought I’d share a recent press release. You may get a kick out of the philatelic tidbits…

“After he’d mounted Obock J1, he called Julia in and showed it to her, and she admired it extravagantly.
“It’s like when somebody shows you their new baby,” Keller said. “You have to say it’s beautiful, because what else are you going to say?”
“All babies are beautiful.”
“And all stamps, I suppose. That’s the original on the right and the reprint next to it. They look the same, don’t they?”
“I bet their mother could tell the difference,” she said.

Keller, Lawrence Block’s fictional hit man, resumed a childhood passion for philately in the final chapters of Hit Man, his bestselling debut. Since then he has become increasingly committed to his stamp collection, putting in long hours with his albums, attending stamp shows and auctions—and all the while pursuing his trade as an assassin for hire.

Now, in the forthcoming Hit Me, he’s a married man, living in New Orleans with his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Jenny. (There’s a reason why they named her Jenny.) He’s making a good living rehabbing houses—but then the economy craters, and the telephone rings, and the next thing he knows he’s in Dallas, and not just because Obock J1 is one of the lots in a Whistler & Welles auction.

“Daddy ’tamps,” said Jenny.
“Yes, Daddy’s stamps,” Keller said, and picked up his daughter and set her on his lap. “See?” he said, pointing at a picture in the catalog, a German Colonial issue from Kiauchau showing the Kaiser’s yacht, Hohenzollern. “Kiauchau,” he told Jenny, “was an area of two hundred square miles in southeast China. The Germans grabbed it in 1897, and then made arrangements to lease it from China. I don’t imagine the Chinese had a lot of choice in the matter. Isn’t that a pretty stamp?”
“Pity ’tamp,” Jenny said, and there the matter lay.

Another phone call brings Keller back to New York, where he lived for years and has to worry about being recognized. And before he knows it he’s on a Caribbean cruise with Julia for company and a philatelic tablemate—and work to do.

Back home, Julia suggests a sideline business. You can probably guess what it is…

“People in the family used to save letters, you know, and in Houghty’s family as well, and some of them go all the way back to the War. A few times I thought some of those stamps might be worth something, and what I ought to do was soak them off the envelopes, but—”
“No, never do that.”
“Well, I guess I’m glad I never got around to it, from the tone of your voice!”

Hit Me will be published in mid-February by Mulholland Books, and will be widely available from online and brick-and-mortar booksellers. Meanwhile, Block has made available a special Limited Philatelic First Edition, printed by a quality small press, published with the imprint of the Mysterious Bookshop, and limited to 500 signed and numbered copies. The limitation page of each book is enhanced with a genuine US postage stamp (via Zazzle.com) showing the book’s cover, and tied to the page with a custom “Keller Cancel.”

In addition, the author has prepared a souvenir sheet, “Stamps from the Keller Collection,” depicting a perforated version of the book’s cover, along with six stamps mentioned in the book—including Obock J1. Two copies of the souvenir sheet (one mint, one canceled) are included free with each copy of the Philatelic Edition.

Just over 100 copies of the Philatelic Edition of Hit Me remain unsold. They’re still available at the original price of $75 plus shipping from LB’s eBay Bookstore. (Click here and go directly to the listing, or search eBay for “Lawrence Block’s Hit Me – limited philatelic first edition”.)

Readers within the US who are uncomfortable ordering online may send checks or money orders for $80 per copy to Lawrence Block 299 W 12 #12-D, New York NY 10014.

Thought you might enjoy that taste of the new book, and a chance at one of the remaining copies of the Philatelic Edition before the general newsletter goes out. Meanwhile, I hope you’re enjoying the winter weather. If it’s keeping you indoors with your books and your stamps…well, that’s not the worst thing in the word, is it?

LB

PS: As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find it of interest. And, if you’ve received the newsletter in that fashion from a friend and would like your own subscription, that’s easily arranged; a blank email to lawbloc@gmail.com with Philatelic Newsletter in the subject line will get the job done.

December 21, 2012
This is the text of a newsletter that just went out to the Philatelic list:

PHILATELIC EDITION NEWS—

I’m delighted to report that the Limited Philatelic First Edition of HIT ME has arrived from the small-press printer. Even as I write these lines, the elves at the Mysterious Bookshop are packing books for shipment.

For those of you who’ve ordered the book, I have good news. And, if you haven’t ordered yet, I’ve got good news for you as well.

IF YOU’VE ALREADY ORDERED…it’s my pleasure to tell you that I’ve seen finished copies, and the book looks terrific. The printing, the paper, the binding, the limitation page, the custom postage stamp—everything works. I wish we could have gotten the book to you by Christmas, but that just wasn’t possible, and I hope you’ll feel that the result was worth the wait.

I hope you’ve received the custom souvenir sheet by now. It went out by First Class Mail within a day of our original receipt of your order, in a 6″x8″ flat mailer, but the mails are capricious around the holidays; if it hasn’t arrived by the first week of January, email me and we’ll send you a replacement.

Meanwhile, there’ll be a second souvenir sheet—this one custom-canceled—tucked into the book, with our thanks.

IF YOU HAVEN’T ORDERED…well, now’s your chance! And you won’t have to wait, either. We have copies at hand, and will have your book on its way to you within 24 hours. Both of the signed souvenir sheets, one mint and one custom-canceled, will be included with our compliments.

IF YOU’VE ORDERED AND WANT MORE COPIES…We can handle that, too. Our press run was limited to 500 copies, and the last I looked we had 142 unsold. If you want additional copies as gifts for philatelic friends, we’ll be happy to accommodate you for as long as they last.

IF YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING TO READ…then you’ll be every bit as happy with Mulholland’s trade edition, available February 12. Signed copies should be widely available, and I hope we’ll be able to supply some ourselves through our eBay store. But all of that can wait for a newsletter closer to the date.

In fact, everything else can wait. That’s enough from me for now. I won’t even clutter this up with graphics. I’ll just take a moment to wish you all the joys of the holiday season, philatelic and otherwise. And, since it looks as though we won’t run out of moments today after all, I’ll take one more to give thanks that the Mayan apocalypse doesn’t seem to have transpired. Not yet, anyway…

LB

PS: As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find it of interest. And, if you’ve received the newsletter in that fashion from a friend and would like your own subscription, that’s easily arranged; a blank email to lawbloc@gmail.com with Philatelic Newsletter in the subject line will get the job done.

December 3, 2012
Kosmo reviews HIT ME for The Soap Boxers

“The first time I encountered Lawrence Block’s hit man, Keller, I wasn’t overly impressed. I finished the book, but Keller just didn’t see to resonate with me nearly as well as other Block characters like gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr or private eye Matt Scudder. A couple of years later, I discovered that one of the Keller books, Hit and Run, took place in my home state of Iowa. That was enough of a reason for me to give Keller a second chance. This time, he quickly grew on me (much like a fungus). I became fond of Keller and have read several of the Keller books since then.

“Several months ago, Block announced that a new Keller book, Hit Me, would be coming out in February. I pre-ordered it immediately, so that it would magically appear on my Kindle on the release date.

“Then, last week, something appears in my inbox. An advanced reading copy of the book. Yes, Christmas came early this year …

“Without further ado, let’s get to the book.

“Hit Me, like several other Keller books, is broken into a number of shorter works. In the case of Hit Me, these are five stories: Keller in Dallas, Keller’s Homecoming, Keller at Sea, Keller’s Sideline, and Keller’s Obligation. While the stories mesh with each other chronologically, they can also be read independently of each other. The final story ends rather abruptly, leaving you wanting more.

“An important aspect of the Keller books has always been Keller’s relationship with Dot, the woman who lines up work for him. Although Keller and Dot go long stretches without contact, she often knows him better than he knows himself. In theory, their relationship is professional. However, in reality, they are very good friends. Their phone conversations often drift into fun trivial tangents. However, other times they discuss the big question: is it morally acceptable to kill people for profit?

“In Hit and Run, Keller was forced to abandon New York City. He ended up landing in New Orleans in the typical “boy meets girl, boy kills girl’s attacker, boy marries girl” fashion. Keller is now a family man, settled down with a wife and young daughter. This makes him wonder if it’s time to leave his line of work behind – but he always seems to get drawn back in. His wife, Julia, is aware of his secret, and she has to figure out what she thinks of a man who kills for a living. The story Keller at Sea gives us a prolonged look at Julia.

“I’m hoping there are many more Keller books in the future. Keller’s daughter (inverted) Jenny is just three years old now. At some point in the future, will she learn what her daddy does for a living? Will she eventually join the family business?”

…Click here to read the rest of Kosmo’s review.

November 8, 2012
LB’s Philatelic Newsletter – November 2012

This just went out to subscribers:

It’s my pleasure to give you, as a subscriber to my philatelic newsletter, the first chance to order the Philatelic First Edition of Keller’s forthcoming fifth adventure, HIT ME—and to receive at no cost the souvenir sheet, “Stamps from the Keller Collection.”

New York’s legendary Mysterious Bookshop is publishing the book by arrangement with Mulholland Books. It will be a genuine small-press limited edition, differing from Mulholland’s trade edition in several aspects: it will be (1) a signed and numbered limited edition, (2) printed on a superior grade of paper, and (3) bound in full cloth with gold stamping.

And it will be philatelically enhanced with a custom US 45¢ personal postage stamp showing the book’s cover. The stamp will be affixed to the limitation page and tied to the page with a special “Keller Cancel.”

It’s not cheap at $75, but we think it represents a solid value for a luxury item.

The souvenir sheet’s an even more remarkable value—it’s free! You can’t buy it separately, but it’s yours at no cost when you order the philatelic edition of HIT ME.

If you’re sold, here’s a link to LB’s eBay Bookstore, where we’ve just made the book available.

Still with me? I see some hands raised, so let me take a few questions.

Is the Philatelic Edition a first edition?

You bet. It’s the book’s true first edition, as Mulholland’s trade edition won’t go on sale until February. We can’t promise, given the vagaries of the small-press world, but we’re fairly confident we’ll be getting the book to you in time for Christmas.

And the souvenir sheet?

It’s ready to go. Once we’ve processed your order, we’ll send you your signed souvenir sheet. And Mysterious Bookshop will deliver your book as soon as it’s ready.

Is there a dust jacket? Sometimes limited editions omit the jacket.

Good question. I’m happy to report that the Mulholland dust jacket’s included.

Is the book any good? I figured Keller was retired after Hit & Run.

He thought so himself. Turns out it’s not that easy to give up something you’re very good at—especially in a down economy. (And especially with his stamp budget eating up his capital.) Publishers Weekly’s starred review calls Hit Me “highly enjoyable…In inventive ways, Keller deals with a cheating wife in Dallas, a felonious monk in New York City, a cruise ship in Florida with a protected witness aboard, and a wandering husband in Denver. Meanwhile, he continues to build his ‘worldwide to 1940’ stamp collection.”

You mention it’s a limited edition. How limited?

An absolute maximum of 1000 copies. Once we’ve sold that many, we’ll cut off orders.

And how many may I order?

No more than five copies. (And yes, every copy comes with a souvenir sheet.)

Overseas orders okay?

Absolutely. You can order from our eBay listing for shipment anywhere in the world. Shipping charges vary; the cost within the United States is $3.99 for the first book (and $1.99 for each additional book). International orders ship by Priority Mail, and our charges are $14.94 to Canada, $18.94 overseas.

I’ll stop now and get this out to you. I honestly have no idea how quickly this offer will sell out, but I do know the interest seems very keen, so you’re probably best advised to order sooner rather than later. Once again, here’s a link to the eBay listing.

There’ll be a general newsletter going out in a couple of days, with some more news included. And I’ll be blogging and tweeting next week about the Philatelic Edition. Meanwhile, you’ve got a few days’ head start on the rest of the world.

LB

PS: As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find it of interest. And, if you’ve received the newsletter in that fashion from a friend and would like your own subscription, that’s easily arranged; a blank email to lawbloc@gmail.com with Philatelic Newsletter in the subject line will get the job done.

October 8, 2012
The HIT ME Souvenir Sheet!

Isn’t it gorgeous? The souvenir sheet, “Stamps from the Keller Collection,” is available free of charge with the Mysterious Bookshop’s signed and limited small-press philatelic edition of Hit Me. We’ll be able to accept orders early in November, but for now I wanted to show you the sheet. As you can see, it depicts some very elusive items:

—the 2-1/2 heller provisional stamp, printed but never issued, by the press of the Evangelical Mission in Wuga, German East Africa.

—Martinique #2, the French colony’s rarest and most expensive stamp, acquired by Keller after a horse race ended in a photo finish.

—A German stamp overprinted for use in the plebiscite territory of Allenstein, but never released, and now reposing in the collection of a young boy in Buffalo, New York, a new friend of Keller’s.

—Obock #J1, the very rare postage due stamp. Keller owned a lower-priced reprint, until an original came up for sale in an auction in Dallas.

—British East Africa #34Ac, the very rare initialed provisional issue. To bid on this stamp, Keller had to risk a return to New York.

—United States #C3, a stamp we can call the Poor Man’s Jenny. As you’ll learn in Hit Me, it has special significance to Keller…

The limited Philatelic Edition of Hit Me is priced at $75 plus shipping. Order a copy, and the souvenir sheet is yours free. Full details of how to order will be posted on this page sometime in early November.

September 18, 2012
HIT ME is now available for pre-order!

You can now pre-order the forthcoming Keller novel, Hit Me, from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. You’ll lock in the low pre-order price, be the first in your posse to have the book, and the whole process is a lot more comfortable than standing in line overnight for Springsteen tickets.

May 11, 2012
Good Seats Going Fast!

I’ve been a boxing fan ever since my dad took me to Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium to watch Willie Pep take apart an inoffensive chap named Walter Kolby. It was April of 1946, and I was coming up on my eighth birthday. Willie was 23, and at the time he’d been fighting for six years and would go on for another twenty. The ref stopped it after five rounds, and that was a mercy for Buffalo’s own Walter Kolby, who hung up his gloves in 1952 and took a ten-count forty years after that.

Truth to tell, my Frequent Companion is twice the fight fan I am. So we watch a lot of pay-for-view bouts. A while back she reported proudly that she’d booked the show coming up in two weeks. Why so early? Quoth Herself: “I wanted to make sure we got good seats.”

All of which is preface to the news that Amazon is taking pre-orders for Hit Me, the fifth Keller novel coming from Mulholland in February. Yes, that’s nine months from now. But there are sound reasons to pre-order, even this far in advance—if there’s a price increase, you’re safe; if there’s a lower price, you’ll get it; if there’s a UPS strike, Jeff Bezos will deliver your copy in person. But I like Lynne’s reason the best. You’ll get really good seats.

Just so you know…

I thought I’d made enough unseemly noise about HIT ME to alert the entire reading population several times over, but evidently not. It’s a rare day that someone doesn’t ask if there’ll ever be another book about Keller. It’s a natural question, as Hit and Run ended with our lad living New Orleans, in a big old house in the Lower Garden District with a whole room for his stamp collection. He’s got a new career—rehabbing houses—and a new name and a new wife and a baby on the way. How can he go back to being a killer for hire?

Well, he can, and he seems to have made a good job of it. There’s great in-house enthusiasm at Mulholland, the folks who did such an estimable job of publishing A Drop of the Hard Stuff. Playboy, who launched Keller by publishing most of the stories that made up Hit Man, will be including an episode of the new novel in their January issue; for the philatelically inclined, American Stamp Dealer & Collector will run an extract centering on Keller’s activities when he puts down the garrote and takes up the magnifier and tongs.

And Otto Penzler of the Mysterious Bookshop has big plans—a special signed-and-numbered limited first edition of HIT ME, its limitation page adorned with a special postage stamp created for the occasion, “tied” to that page with a custom canceling device. There was a philatelic edition of Hit & Run, well received by bibliophiles and philatelists alike; while it had nothing to apologize for, this new venture is in a class by itself. (1) It will be the book’s true first edition, coming out in January. (2) It will be produced by a top-tier small press, printed on high quality paper, and with its own distinctive binding. (3) It will be fitted with a custom-made slipcase.

In short, it’ll be a collector’s item, and I hope you’ll be moved to collect it. While you can pre-order the trade edition of HIT ME from Amazon, you’ll have to wait a few months to get in line for the Philatelic Edition. We’ll be taking orders sometime in the fall. The best way to make sure you don’t miss the memo, and to stay on top of all Kellerean developments, is to sign up for the Philatelic subset of my newsletter.

Huh? What subset? What newsletter? What’s the old fool talking about, Maude?

I’d better explain.

I get out a free email newsletter at irregular intervals. Anyone who wants it can get on the list simply by sending a blank email to lawbloc@gmail.com with LB-NEWSLETTER in the subject line. And, because not everyone on the newsletter list cares about either stamps or limited editions, the subscription list has within itself a sub-list of people who do. (Care, that is to say.) So, if you’d rather skip the Philatelic Edition details, LB-NEWSLETTER’s what you put in the subject line. If you want the whole package, make it LB-PHILATELY.

Is that clear? Probably not, but if I say more I’ll only make it worse. Look, if I had decent communications skills I’d have gone into another line of work entirely.

Note: Like Matthew Scudder and Jill Emerson, Keller’s now got a page of his own. If he’s your kind of guy, you might want to make a point of dropping in on future visits to this site.