There's been a lot of hype and talk over the last few days about National Book Award finalist John Edgar Wideman self-publishing his latest collection with Lulu as the inaugural author in their VIP Publishing Program. But what has been left out of the discussion, at least until the Los Angeles Times story today, is that his son Daniel is a Senior Product Manager with Lulu, which explains a lot about how they snagged the acclaimed author. My guess is that Wideman got his books published for free, or at a very low rate, in return for allowing Lulu to use him to publicize and market their new (and pricey) VIP Publishing service, which is aimed directly at previously published authors. But you will notice that none of the Lulu blogs, interviews or press materials mentions Wideman's personal connection to the company and any role that may have played in his decision to go with them.
As a fan of the TV series, I stumbled across a couple of your books in a used bookstore. After reading them, I became hooked. Having found all but 3 at the used bookstore, I couldn’t bear to wait to get the rest so off I went to Books a Million to buy the ones I didn’t have. And, I will be the first in line when the new one is released. While I was at it, I bought the 3 Psych books, as well, basically based on your friendship with Mr. Rabkin and my being a fan of that TV series, as well. Anyway, in me you have a lifelong fan. I love the series and am excited to find out how Adrian Monk is doing.