All right, before we get into the podcast, a quick update on how it’s going with my just-released book Dare to Know.

The reviews are good! The Southern Bookseller Review praised it as “a personal and riveting horror story . . . frightening and smart.” SFBook Reviews says it is “perfect for science fiction readers who like their concepts intelligent and complex, but also like to have characters with developed personalities.” And SF2 Concatenation calls it “a mind-twister reminiscent of Philip K. Dick.” Philip K. Dick?! I’ll take it!

You can read all the reviews here. It’s available for sale everywhere, but of course I encourage you to buy Dare to Know from your local independent bookstore if possible.

On to the podcast! In this episode, Matt and I talk about how to give “notes” on someone else’s writing (that is, helpful criticism) graciously and effectively; and how to accept those “notes,” even if they make you feel weird:

The uncomfortable issue simmering in the background of this conversation is the fact that Matt and I have, as Matt admits in his blog post about this episode, “a contentious history of giving (or not giving) feedback to each other, and we reveal some big philosophical differences on the fraught topic of how to give and receive notes.” It’s a good episode!

More news: Devi Bhaduri interviewed me for the Chicago Review of Books. Read it to find out about my “Elf Theory” of friendship, and how Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard stole the girlfriend (and life savings) of one of the people who inspired Dare to Know.

We also had an outdoor book release party at the Book Cellar bookstore in Chicago:

I also got to speak on a panel discussion at the Printers Row Lit Fest with old friend Dan Kraus (The Living Dead) and make new author friends such as Stephen Graham Jones (My Heart Is a Chainsaw), Meredith Westgate (The Shimmering State), and Dan Chaon (Ill Will). Here we are after the panel:

Later on that night, Betsy Bird—wife of Matt, and author of the upcoming Long Road to the Circus—texted me to meet her at a bar, where she happened to be hanging out with . . . Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events! And so we all hung out and drank and talked for a few hours. I was walking with gods!

Some of you might remember that I have a history with Daniel Handler. At the Chicago Humanities Festival, where I appeared with him back in 2013, I revealed Daniel Handler’s true origin: that he is in fact a SENTIENT TUMOR, a mischievous polyp that had been discovered growing out of my head when I was born. Indeed Daniel Handler and I spent a happy childhood together, a boy and his tumor, but Daniel Handler was surgically excised from my head when I had to “grow up”—if you call losing your best friend “growing up”! You can read the whole sordid story here, and gape at photographic evidence like these:

Again, you can find the whole story here.

And by all means, get yourself a copy of Dare to Know!

The day of reckoning is here! My adult speculative thriller Dare to Know has finally been unleashed upon the world.

Is it any good? According to reviews, yes! The Guardian named it in its “Best Recent Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction” roundup, calling it “a fascinating, compulsively readable thriller.” SFX Magazine praised it as “audaciously clever and well written… [a] superb piece of storytelling: vivid, thought provoking and unsettling. After you finish it you’ll want to go back to the start and read it again.” Booklist says it “will keep readers on the edge of their seats wanting to find out the next piece of the puzzle.” And so on, and so on!

Are you in Chicago? Please join me tonight at the Book Cellar (4736-38 N. Lincoln Ave) at 7 pm. We’re doing a relaxed outdoors book release and signing thing. A chance to hang out! (Want a signed, personalized copy of Dare to Know? The Book Cellar can hook you up.)

I know, I know: it’s been a long time since my first book The Order of Odd-Fish came out. So much else has happened in the meantime: my wife and I had two daughters, I started the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, empires have risen and fallen. But I’m so thrilled to be back to writing and publishing books.

There are so many people for me to thank, but I don’t think I did it any better than in the acknowledgements section of the Dare to Know, so I’m going to reprint it below, with some amendments. THANK YOU EVERYONE for accompanying me on this weird journey. I promise it won’t be a decade before my third book!

Second chances are real! A few years ago, I was on the ropes. A book deal went south, I lost my old agent, and my confidence collapsed—though I was loath to admit it. Everlasting gratitude to my current agent John Cusick for picking me up, dusting me off, and putting me on the right track. John, your enthusiasm and wise guidance have turned everything around for me. Special thanks to Dana Spector at CAA for extending my good fortune.

Tremendous thanks to my editor Jhanteigh Kupihea and everyone at Quirk Books for taking a risk on this book. Jhanteigh, you have energized my words beyond anything I could have done on my own. I have learned so much from your editing. Jane Morley, your copyediting and proofreading have improved my prose and saved me from many embarrassing errors. Ryan Hayes, the cover you designed is perfect: something I never could’ve imagined, but exactly what I was hoping for. Nicole De Jackmo, Jennifer Murphy, and Chrstina Tatulli, your powers of marketing and publicity have been awesome to behold. I am lucky to work with such a dedicated team of pros. (Edited to add: Jamie-Lee Nardone of Black Crow and Gabrielle Bujak too, you have also been fantastic publicists! But I didn’t know you yet when the Acknowledgements went to press!)

I am also fortunate to have many smart friends and family who read early versions of this manuscript and helped with their advice, encouragement, and support. These include Christy Allen, Kate Babka, Matt Bird, Joe Cannon, Noah Cruikshank, John Fecile, Joe Fusion, Rob Goodwin, Keir Graff, St. John Karp, Rob Knowles, Sam Malissa, Chris Norborg, Chris Norborg Sr., Heather Norborg, Jennifer Norborg, Ellen Palmer, Alice Setrini, Abi St. John, Laura St. John, Freya Trefonides, Theo Trefonides, and Brandon Will. If I’m forgetting anyone, I apologize! Thanks particularly to April Osborn of MIRA Books for helpful guidance.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to meet many wonderful librarians who have been generous in their assistance and friendship. There are too many to name here, but I must particularly thank my friends Eti Berland and Betsy Bird.

I am indebted to the archeologists and scholars who have brought to light the story of the Native American city of Cahokia. I was especially inspired by Timothy Pauketat’s 2009 book Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi and the more recent work concerning Mound 72 done under the direction of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey by Thomas Emerson, Kristin Hedman, Eve Hargrave, Dawn Cobb, and Andrew Thompson. Of course, the fantastical extrapolations in this book are my own.

I have had many great teachers and professors in my life, but the ones who most directly influenced this book are James Group, J.T. Cushing, and J.B. Kennedy.

At last, I will always be grateful to my mother Priscilla Kennedy who never stopped encouraging me, and to my father James Kennedy who showed me how never to lose faith or quit. I love you both.

Finally, my inexpressible love and gratitude to my wife Heather Norborg. Without your love, support, and constancy, there would be no book. I am so happy to share my life with you and our daughters Lucy and Ingrid, who have made my life a thousand times richer than I could have imagined.

My adult speculative thriller, Dare to Know, is coming out on September 14! Pre-order now, available wherever books are sold. Want to make it special? Order your own signed and personalized copy from Chicago’s Book Cellar bookstore.

Want to learn more about Dare to Know? Shelf Awareness did a great review and interview with me here.

Matt Bird and I are back with another episode of our Secrets of Story podcast. In this one, Matt lays out his theories of how to use irony effectively in your storytelling, and we talk about his ideas in the context of Casablanca, Blazing Saddles, and Mulan.

(Actually, Matt and I got into a hourlong and extremely contentious argument about Blazing Saddles and whether comedy ages well. But Matt cut all that out. Perhaps we’ll see that audio resurface someday as bonus content!)