I write to you from the 27th floor of the Westin hotel in lovely Seattle. Last night, Jack Skillingstead and Nancy Kress, Seattle’s science fiction power couple, hosted a lovely dinner, with guests that included Ted Kosmatka (awesome SF writer), and Patrick Swenson, the proprietor of Fairwood Press, who will be publishing my short story collection in the fall. I drop these names not to impress you (though really, you should all be jealous that you didn’t get a slice of Nancy’s gingerbread cake), but to remark on a nice bit of synchronicity. You see, Jack, Ted, and I all have work appearing in a comic book series that’s out now. Lemmee explain.

Each issue of BOOM! Studios graphic novel version of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep includes an essay about Philip K. Dick and his influence on the field. Issue 16 has my piece, “I Am Horselover Fat”, about all the techniques I stole from him. #17 has Jack’s essay, “Truth, Art, and Grocery Money” about key moments in Dick’s life, and #18 has Ted discussing “Philip K. Dick the Shaman.” Did you know that Ted was born on the same day as PKD, only 45 years apart? Me neither. But that, my friends, is only one of the amazing things you will learn when you buy these issues. Oh, and the graphic novels are pretty sweet too. And don’t forget Chris Roberson’s official prequel to Androids, called Dust to Dust, also out by BOOM!

Now, three Impaler-related items:

Dracula: The Company of Monsters #6 is now on sale. In this issue we demonstrate the ups and downs of being undead: (a) Why it’s so handy to be a vampire during contract negotiations, and (b) how  cheesy pickup lines will never work with the hot chick, even if you are a creature of the night. Oh, the fang giveth, and the fang taketh away.

D:TCoM Volume 1, collecting issues 1-4, is now out in trade paperback.This is a great time to finally start reading the comic, Mom. Just ask A Walrus Darkly, who has a nice review of the volume.

Finally, Newsarama has Chris Roberson interviewing me about Dracula, in which he pressures me into revealing exactly how I managed to sneak into the world of comics.

Well, that’s it for now, folks. I haven’t had an espresso in fifteen minutes, and it’s time to get back on track. I love you, Seattle.