…Vanishing Seattle review out now, this one by Artdish.com’s Jim Demetre. Aw shucks, ya make me blush.

…the past two weeks, instead of writing here:

• Selling Vanishing Seattle books. (It’s only been out less than six weeks, and the third printing is already scheduled.)
• Working temp gigs. Most recently, I was at the Convention Center during the American Library Association’s huge confab. Sorry to report, I don’t have any dirt to report about raucous librarian nights on the town. I was mostly stuck at a desk, fielding questions from exhibiting companies about their “lead retrieval” machines. (They’re magnetic-stripe readers that collect demographic info about any convention attendee who stops by a company’s display booth.)This is one of those meta business-to-business-to-business enterprises that should have been rendered obsolete long ago. But then again, the whole convention biz is something online communication should have rendered obsolete by now. Yet it’s still more-or-less going strong, propping up all sorts of industries (display designers/builders, staging crews, airlines, hotels, restaurants, hookers, cab drivers, caterers, truckers, Pike Place fish throwers, the makers of promotional swag of all sorts (backpacks, brochures, candies, water bottles, pens, golf balls)), all so dispersed people with one professional or social link can all gather F2F (that’s “face to face” in geekspeak), be collectively bored by PowerPoint slide presentations, and dine on overpriced trout almondine.

  My next such gig’s at the Boat Show. It’ll be nine straight days of, well, I never know what.

• Neglecting work on my next book, a history of bodacious Belltown, and on another update to my ebook about digital TV.
• Planning a long-way-overdue reworking of this here blog site thang. I’m not yet ready to say much about it, only that it’ll be a group endeavor with several other bloggers and journalists, and just might be the Next Big (Online) Thing.
• Putting the February Belltown Messenger together. It’ll have the first of two consecutive installments about the new Olympic Sculpture Park. One reason why: The “park” part of the park, the landscaping and the plantings, still aren’t done yet, and even those flora aspects that have been installed will look nicer the closer we get toward spring.

Seattlest.com has posted an email interview with yr. humble author, with a gushing introductory commentary about the book.

A few local shops have the book back in stock this week. But your best bet is still to buy direct, from the link near the top left corner of this page.

As a year begins, our new book remains sold out at many area stores. Some were out of copies even before last Wednesday’s rave Seattle Times review. You can still order it online; and you can email me about getting a personally autographed copy ($20 plus postage). Retail outlets ought to resume having it next week.

Peter Donahue has written a positively gushing review of Vanishing Seattle in the Seattle Times today. It’s just too lovely.

…report selling out of Vanishing Seattle. Thanks to you all, it’s become the surprise local bestseller of the season. Epilogue Books in Ballard will have approximately three dozen copies at 10 a.m. Saturday, if you need yours before the big holiday.

…Vanishing Seattle signing party was even more spectacular and better-attended than the first. Epilogue Books had one copy at the end of Monday’s event. It got 40 more copies by Tuesday evening. Only seven remained at Tuesday’s closing time. The store expects to get more copies in by Friday.

Other outlets report having sold out of their initial stock in one or two days. The following other places are, or were, known to have had it in stock, or to be ordering/reordering:

• Virginia Mason Hospital Gift Shop
• FriendShop (Seattle Public Library gift store)
• Ye Olde Curiosity Shop
• Exclusively Washington (next to Ivar’s at Pier 54)
• Broadway News
• Le Frock Ltd, 317 E. Pine St.
• Ballard Home Comforts
• Portage Bay Gifts, Fremont
• Walgreens (various) in Seattle
• Bailey-Coy Books
• M. Coy Books
• Museum of History and Industry
• Fremont Place Book Co.
• Culpepper Books, Tacoma
• NW Museum store, Tacoma

And it can be attained online, from the link near the top left corner of this page.

After the holidays, I hope to offer autographed copies to site readers.

…impromptu Vanishing Seattle book signing was a smashing success. I met many old and new friends, and Epilogue Books sold all but one of the copies they had in stock. Fret not, however: A fresh batch will be unsealed and unboxed in time for the regularly-scheduled book release party, 6:30-8 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) at 2001 NW Market Street in brilliant Ballard.

…not to trust the mainstream news media: SeattleTimes.com listed the Vanishing Seattle premiere party as a “Hot Ticket,” but then got the date wrong. As a result, many people may show up at Epilogue Books (2001 Market Street in brilliant Ballard) tonight, Monday, instead of the scheduled night, Tuesday. I’ll show up both nights just in case.

…to Steve Mandich, whose blog contains a lovely rave review of Vanishing Seattle.

Spent six hours today convincing stores to carry our lovely new book. Here’s a fabulous promo display at that un-disappeared Seattle landmark, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.

Vanishing Seattle is now out, at least in some stores. I’m going on a sales junket around town in the morning to make sure it gets stocked prominently in your local book outlet.

A special sudden Vanishing Seattle release party will be held Tuesday, Dec. 19, 6:30-8 p.m., at the fabulous Epilogue Books in beautiful bodacious Ballard. Be there.

Our latest book Vanishing Seattle exists! I’ve seen a copy, and it’s damned beautiful if I do say so myself.

It will appear in local stores starting Monday. It’s already available for preorder from Amazon (check the link near the upper left corner of this page). Every home should have one. Seriously.

Yes, there will be a release party, but it will probably occur after the holiday season so all of you can attend. Watch this space for further details.

Our newest book is at the presses, and will be out for the holidays.

Vanishing Seattle collects over 200 pictures of former local icons and landmarks. It’s a book every Seattleite of a certain age will crave.

Until I get a proper ordering page set up, here’s where you can pre-order it thru Barnes & Noble.

Spectacular promo events will be scheduled. Watch this space.