Southbury Borders

Painless is now going to be carried in the Borders store in Southbury, CT (Located in Southbury Plaza right off Exit 15 of I-84). This is something we've been working on since the day Painless came out, so glad to see it come to fruition. The book is now on order, so it should arrive sometime next week.

If Barnes & Noble is the Coke of the bookselling industry, then Borders is the Pepsi, and I hope this is this first step in being carried by Borders nationwide.

The Southbury location is especially appealing for me in many areas. For one, it is the town I spent most of my formative years growing up, so it has some sentimental value. And the area has been a great champion of the book so far, so this gives just another option for people there to acquire it. Another cool aspect is that the Southbury Borders location is a Borders Concept Store, one of 14 to open up around the US in 2008. The concept store goes beyond the normal book/music buying experience, including a digital center where the customer can download music or books, burn CD's, print pictures, etc. So if you're in the area it's a great place to spend some time, even if you already have your copy of Painless.

Speaking of Southbury: They held a ceremony today for the Old Cowboy, my grandfather Aubrey Jay Mays, who was also one of my biggest fans. Two trees were planted in honor right above the famous "Southbury" sign he created from flowers each year on the hill above the firehouse. On behalf of my family, I want to thank Catherine Palmer of the Southbury Historical Tree Restoration Committee and First Selectman Davis, amongst countless others who came out today for the ceremony. They really got it right.

Elm Street Books

Painless is now being carried by Elm Street Books, in New Canaan, Connecticut.

It was the end of the road for Billy Harper, both literally and figuratively. From the literal standpoint, the end of the road was a well-groomed cul-de-sac in New Canaan, Connecticut with stately mansions staring back at him. The figurative was much more complex and hurtful.

This is the first paragraph in the first chapter of Painless - a story that both begins and ends in the town of New Canaan. That is one of the reasons why I'm thrilled that the book is now being carried in the most influential bookstore in New Canaan. You can find it in the "Thriller" section.

So why did I choose New Canaan as such a key setting for the book?
Besides the obvious familiarity - I lived in the neighboring city of Norwalk - it all goes back to a sign I saw once at the New Canaan Train Station that read, "Next Station to Heaven." In other words, it is an idyllic, affluent town where nothing bad is supposed to happen. But fiction heaven is when that perfect cocoon is shattered, as it is in Painless.