I’m going to keep this one nice and short because the old saw that a picture is worth a thousand words has never been more apropos.

I came home from book tour (only one more stop and that’s near my house) and it has been a wonderful couple of weeks. HOLD TIGHT, thanks to many of you, will debut this Sunday on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list at number one. That’s a first for me. Simultaneously, thanks again to many of you, it debuts at one in the UK. Such a thrill.

But this picture taken at Camp Eggers in Kabul… I mean, doesn’t it say it all? Is there any greater accolade? I love getting emails from happy readers at harlancoben.com. They all mean something special to me. But I hold an extra special place in my heart – and I’m sure you get that – for the soldiers who are serving overseas and take the time to write.

So stay safe, guys. Thanks for the pic. You are our heroes.

—Harlan

I walked into the room, pen akimbo– and the table of books you see here was what greeted me.

“Wow,” I said, taking the above photo with my phone.

“Oh that’s only about half of them.”

I sat down and got to work. As I came upon my second hour of signing, someone asked, as someone inevitably does, “Isn’t your hand getting sore?”

The honest answer: No.

My hand only gets sore when NO ONE wants me to sign a book. I still remember my early days, sitting in some Waldenbooks at a mall, no one approaching me, trying to look busy, playing with my pen, straightening out my untouched pile of bookmarks, feeling something like the authorial equivalent to a poster child (”You can buy his book…or you can turn the page…”).

Now I’m supposed to complain because too many people want me to sign their books???

Forget it.

I’m a lucky man. I get to write books and tell stories for a living. You the reader trust me enough to give me that opportunity. I can’t wait for you to get HOLD TIGHT. I can’t wait to receive those emails complaining that I kept you up too late or that you couldn’t put the book down or that maybe what happens to Mike and Tia and Adam and Betsy and Dante and Joe and all the rest moved you and made you think and stirred your heart.

And if I see you on the road – my full tour schedule is on the myspace page or harlancoben.com – I will be thrilled to sign your book. And when I do, you will know that my hand feels just fine.

Best,
Harlan Coben