It's finally happening -- my novel Sea Changes will be published in June, 2009. Bao and I are going to do a 20-city Author Tour and everything. Bao is very excited.

Sea Changes is literary fiction, part magical realism, and part psychological thriller. It's a book that will appeal to people who enjoy reading good books and discussing them afterwards. But how do I reach out to these people? There are so many books published every year, and Oprah isn't exactly beating a path to my door.

I've been thinking about this for weeks. And then suddenly -- while I was walking Bao this morning -- I got this wonderful idea. I'm going to give away 100 free copies of Sea Changes to people in book discussion groups. They'll read it and they'll love it. Or maybe they won't. But at least it's a plan. And writing books isn't really about money. It's about writing books. And what's the point of writing a book if nobody reads it?

So if you're in a Book Group -- or better yet, if you host a Book Group -- and you'd like to read a novel that will knock your socks off, let me know and I'll put you on the list. Advance Reading Copies will be available in February.