In ninth grade, a girl in English class asked me if I ever published a book, would I dedicate it to her? Without hesitation, I mean truly before a second had passed, I assured her that I would. I didn’t quite say, “Who else?” but I came close. Where either of us got the idea that I would like to write a book, I’m not sure. I do remember the whole conversation felt pretty fanciful, though that might have been the surreality of being addressed by a girl.

Twenty-some years later, the time has come to break my promise. Under the pen name “J.J. Carswell,” the brilliant Joe Packer & I have written a detective novel. And as of a few days ago, the good people at Disney Books are planning to make it available to you! Just as soon as we make it to… let’s see, as I tear a Looney Tunes number of pages off a desk calendar, just a few more, ah here it is… the summer of 2027.

For lack of anything less earnest or cliché, I’ll just say that this has been a dream of mine for a while. Soon enough we’ll be agonizing over preorder numbers or whatever else, but for now I plan to enjoy every minute. Thank you to the many people who have encouraged me in my romantic and impractical obsession with someday becoming a novelist. There were days when I thought you’d all led me terribly astray.

I’ll leave you with the obligatory Publishers Marketplace screenshot, which a lot of you have seen on Instagram, followed by one of many Yosemite photos that you have not yet seen on Instagram.

seth