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Well. The new Scarecrow book has been delivered to the good folk at Pan Macmillan and I am now having a (I think, well-deserved) break! Many emailers have been asking when the new book will be released, but since this question has different answers for different countries, I'll answer it in detail below.

STOP PRESS!
I WILL BE ATTENDING A CHAT SESSION
HOSTED BY "THEPRESIDIAN.NET" FAN SITE
TOMORROW, 10 OCTOBER, AT 5.00 P.M. (AUS EST).
EVERYBODY'S WELCOME!

Continuing my recent diet of World War II books (last month it was Antony Beevor's Berlin), and my rapt wonder at the TV series based on this book, I am currently reading Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose's 1992 book about an Airborne company's extraordinary year-long journey from the beaches at Normandy to Hitler's lair at Berchtesgaden during WWII.

First, this book is amazing. I love Ambrose's style - it is at some times ruthlessly formal, while at others, wonderfully informal, crude and gritty. Like a soldier or paratrooper, perhaps: rigid and formal and disciplined on parade, crude and gritty when in battle.

What has struck me most about Band of Brothers (the book, that is) is how much it influenced the TV series' cinematic "parent", Steven Spielberg's brilliant Saving Private Ryan.

You watch Saving Private Ryan in a whole new way after you have read this book. Indeed, I wonder if Mr Spielberg was persuaded into making Band of Brothers - as a homage to the heroic Airborne divisions that landed behind the lines of the Normandy beaches to aid the seaborne invasion - after a few off-hand pieces of dialogue in Saving Private Ryan offended the Airborne paratroopers depicted in Band of Brothers. In Ryan a character criticises the Airborne during the Normandy campaign, saying they were "supposed to win an open door for the seaborne infantry forces, but instead they misdropped and scattered all their sticks [squads of paratroopers] into the wind." Knowing how proud soldiers and ex-soldiers are about their histories, I can see how such a line would have bristled with veterans.

Sure enough, as this book shows, that view was a long way from the truth. The Airborne divisions landed in France the night before the beach landings (parachuting in under hellish fire) and fought the Germans from behind, clearing the causeways that led inland from the Normandy beaches. Their bravery was astonishing. Their role, crucial.

Watch the TV show. Read the book. You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it.

This is currently the most frequently asked question in recent emails. To the best of my knowledge, the new Scarecrow novel will be released as follows:

I often receive emails from readers asking me what I think of other authors, or if I read certain authors - many readers ask if I enjoy the books of Clive Cussler, for instance - so I thought I'd talk about that a little.

Clive Cussler - I have to admit that I don't read Big Clive. I've tried him a couple of times (Inca Gold and Atlantis Found since both topics interest me) but I just didn't get into them. I admire his writing, though, and Dirk Pitt is certainly a terrific creation.

Michael Crichton - my favourite author, and the man who inspired me to be an author. While I found Timeline to be a little below his best, he is still the man. Jurassic Park is a colossal piece of original writing. Rising Sun is a testimony to pace. And Eaters of the Dead is just a dead fantastic story.

Stephen King - a brilliant, brilliant writer. Love the way makes words work. I'm not much of a horror reader, but I really enjoy his non-horror work: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, The Long Walk, Head Down. Should be considered for literary prizes, but typically, is not. Must have got a whole generation of people reading and that deserves a prize!

Jeffrey Archer - one of my favourite books of all time is Archer's Honour Among Thieves. A Matter of Honour was pretty good too. But I've never really got into his epics. Not sure why.

Tom Clancy - the Godfather of geopolitical thrillers, and along with Crichton, another huge influence on me. I enjoyed his stuff up until Jack Ryan became President. I found Clear and Present Danger, Without Remorse, and Debt of Honour to be just awesome. That said, his non-fiction works - like Marine, Airborne, Carrier and all the many others - are second to none, and along with the Jane's Guides, my first-choice reference books.

Have received a few emails from some people interested in self-publishing lately. While I have written about "Getting Published" in a previous Thoughts, I can offer the following.

The most comprehensive piece I have written about self-publishing is in a book called "The Australia Writers Marketplace in a piece titled "Adventures in Self-Publishing." Although you can probably find that piece on the Net now.

In short, self-publishing is tough. It cost me $8,000 to produce 1,000 books, which I then sold to bookstores (ten at a time) at $8 per book. So you can't make money (unless you get a distributor as Sandra "Liver Cleansing Diet" Cabot did). You can only get noticed, which is why I did it.

There are also no real "self publishing companies" - just try desktop publishing companies. I went to one in Sydney called Image Desktop Publishing. They do brochures, leaflets and booklets for corporations and can do books. Although you may have to give them the dimensions of the kind of book you want to produce (that's what I had to do! Did you know a paperback novel is 11-by-17.9 centimetres? I found out by using a ruler.).

I have been watching the world with special interest lately - observing George W. Bush rail against Iraq (indeed, Iraq has been off-the-radar for a few years; now call me cynical, but suddenly with Osama bin Laden missing, Iraq has come back on the agenda. Curious); watching Dubya get Tony Blair to release unimpressive "dossiers" on Iraq rather than release any US information himself.

It all makes me think about how a reordering of the Middle East would aid the US's (massive) oil needs, how Iraq is an easy target for "regime change" since it is not considered a hardcore Islamic country, and of that oil pipeline the US never convinced the Taliban to lay across Afghanistan. I even noticed recently that the US is starting to say critical things about Saudi Arabia. Could this be the creation of a new enemy?

Well, that's all for this time. Have a great October, and if you can, come along to the chat session tomorrow night!

P.S. After a slow (and rusty) start to the new season, the Full Tossers are back to their barnstorming, winning ways!!