Summertime news

You're more likely to drive too fast on an exit ramp/frontage road because you've become accustomed to the higher speed of the freeway. Psychologists call this being "velocitized."

I'm feeling velocitized this week because my busy, busy life abruptly slowed down, and my brain hasn't caught up yet.

With the arrival of summer, a few items disappear from my schedule, including the class I teach at the University of New Mexico's Honors College. But the big difference is that I finished the first draft of a new crime novel, which had consumed me for the past nine weeks. I always take a little break between "The End" and the rewrites, during which I try not to think about the new book at all. That way, I have fresh eyes when I start editing it.

Hiking expert David Ryan talks at Organic Books.

The novel, currently called UPSHOT, is about a heist crew that hijacks cannabis couriers. I had a lot of fun writing it.

Our family-owned bookstore in Albuquerque's historic Nob Hill neighborhood, Organic Books, remains busy and growing, and I've been putting in extra hours there because one of our two sons is on vacation. We host events by local authors and poets on weekend afternoons, and I'm usually at the store then. Check out the schedule at our website.

My summer slowdown means more time for reading, and I've recently devoured books by William Gibson, Blake Crouch, Tana French, James Ellroy and Adrian McKinty. Next up is a Jim Harrison novel I somehow overlooked in the past.

One of the best parts of owning a bookstore is that it serves as your personal library. I can take home a different book every night if I want. How cool is that?

Hope you have a summer full of great reading!