OK, so I know there are lots of people out there ready to hunt me down. You’ve turned in your submission for the AYTNTD and have been waiting patiently by your computer wondering, “Did Kaiser read it? Why haven’t we heard anything? Has he been abducted and brainwashed? Assassinated by the CIA?” Well, the answers my friends are yes, because, no (I don’t think, but how would I really know?), and not yet.

Believe it or not, I am just now finishing up the last of the submissions this week. It’s taken me almost two months to get through them since I decided to read them all personally. Originally, my plan was to solicit the help of some colleagues and spread the work around. That felt too Wal-Mart-ish to me. You deserve better so I have read each one. Every. Word. And there are a lot of them, which is impressive. Impressive on your count, not that I read them. It’s exciting to see so many writers who are developing their craft patiently and consistently. I feel honored that you were willing to share your work with me. Seriously.

Where to from here? Well, I’m going to post the results on Monday. I know, I know—more waiting? It’ll be worth it. There isn’t time or space to give detailed feedback on individual submissions, but there are several comments I can make that apply across the board. I’ll outline the hits and misses that I came across and share how to tighten up your submission and focus your writing a bit more. Fair enough?

So, keep an eye out on Monday.Oh, and to the guy who put up a tent in the woods behind my house (yeah I’m talking to you). You can go home now. Even if your manuscript was awesome I just can’t represent a stalker in good conscience. It’s just–weird. Besides, I think my neighbor’s considering shooting at you.

As most of you may already know, the New Year brings with it several new Dekker titles and the first one out of the gates is Burn, a book that was co-authored with Erin Healy who also penned Kiss which came out last January. Take a look at the book’s trailer, which was done by uber-talented designer, and good friend, Mike Heath. If you haven’t already picked it up, be sure to add this book to your reading list. And be sure to watch for Erin’s debut solo novel, Never Let You Go, which comes out in May. Very talented writer who has a long career in front of her.

Yep, it’s coming. I just hit SEND on this email announcement. Watch for more to come later this week.

Since the 2009 Gathering in Nashville you’ve flooded us with emails asking when and where the 2010 event will be. You’ve also given us great feedback on how to make the Gathering accessible to more people.

Well, we’ve run with those ideas and today we’re happy to announce that there will be not one, but two Gathering events in 2010, both on weekends:

Chicago, IL (4/17/2010)  AND  Dallas, TX (4/24/2010)

We’re calling the events Gathering 2.0 and they will be different than previous years. How? For one, they will be much less expensive. Less than the cost of a hardcover novel ($25). But, what that means is the event won’t be about dancers, performers, lights, and fog machines. It’ll be about Ted connecting with you and you connecting with each other. Each one will be several hours of Q&A with Ted with a few surprises thrown in. Think of it as a backstage event. You drive to the event in the morning, spend a few hours in the Circle, finish off with a book signing, and go home that same night.

More to come very soon!

We’ve been working for several months now to lock down what exactly the Gathering will look like in 2010. Well, we’ve got it figured out and will be making an announcement this week about it. I’m excited because there will be not one, but TWO Gatherings in 2010.

You read that right. Now, I can’t spoil the surprise by spilling the beans on the when, where, and what just yet. You’ll have to wait until we send the email out. What I can tell you is that it will be stripped down, more intimate, and will be a fraction the 2009 Gathering. So, watch your inbox, the website, and Facebook for that announcement. It’s coming this week.

We’ve also locked down 9 cities that will be a part of a spring book tour to promote Ted’s upcoming thriller The Bride Collector. Dates and locations will also be coming your way in the next week or two. It will be a whirlwind trip and I’m already cooking up some ideas to give everyone an all access pass along the way. More to come, I promise.

At 12:01 a.m. CT tonight, I’m opening up my inbox so you can submit your novel proposals for consideration. My hope is that, somewhere among the many submissions that I’m expecting, I’ll find a talented novelist ready to go the next step. There’s no guarantee, of course, that that will happen. Being ready is really in your hands, not mine.

So, let’s get started on how this will work.
I will only consider, submissions that meet the following criteria:

• Full length, adult works of Fiction. That means novels with a word count of 80,000+ No short stories, short story collections, anthologies, young adult novels, screenplays, or blog entries stapled together and delivered in a Trapper Keeper will be considered. I am not interested in non-fiction works at this time, so please no business, self-help, 7 Steps to (fill in the blank), spirituality books, etc.. They will not be considered. Your novel does not have to be currently finished, but you must commit to completing it within 90 days if you are chosen.

• Works that can be published as Suspense or Thriller. I am not interested in children’s books, romance tales, or Amish stories (especially Amish romance). Other than those limitations, you may mix genre as long as your story has strong suspense elements. Remember, I’m looking for the next Thriller writer.

• Works that have not been previously published. Goes without saying, but I’m just saying.

If you were able to check all three boxes then continue reading. If you were NOT able to check all three, you stand at a fork in the road. You can either change your plan or wait until next time to see if you’re what I’m looking for, but please do not try to slip through with something that I don’t want. It’ll only make me grumpy.

For those who are on to the next step, here’s the “what I want and how I want it” part. Please read this next section very carefully.

This is the approved cover copy for the advanced reader’s version of The Bride Collector, a Dekker thriller coming in April 2010 from Hachette/Center Street. Enjoy the sneak peek. -KSK

FBI special agent Brad Raines is facing his most complex case yet. A Denver serial killer has murdered a string of beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each scene, and he’s picking up his pace.  Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellbeing and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill people who are extraordinarily gifted.

It’s there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand.  Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person’s life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise’s help. Gradually he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls…or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace – and volume – of his gruesome killings, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector’s fourth target.  And she isn’t the last – by far.

As a marketing guy, sometimes I get to do fun production stuff. Later this week, I’m headed to Austin, TX for a video shoot with Ted. We’re mostly capturing footage for use on the web in 2010, but we also have a few tricks up our sleeves. As we were scripting the day out, I thought, “You know, this would be a good time to record Ted riffing on the craft of writing. Why not? We have a lot of writers in our community who would get a kick out of that.”

I pitched the idea to Ted and he liked it. So it’s now officially part of the day’s schedule, thank you very much. Time block #3 to be exact, “Writer Conversations–Ted talks about the craft of writing.”

Here’s how you can be part of the process. If you’re a writer or someone interested in the craft of writing, let me know what questions you want answered. Anything’s fair game as long as it’s about the craft of writing. So, please, no questions about specific Dekker novels, characters, etc. unless it has to do with the “how” of writing.

Leave your questions here on my blog as a comment. I’ll compile them all before the shoot and then hit Ted with both barrels when we sit down on-camera. Here’s your chance to have that one question that keeps you awake at night finally answered.

Thomas Nelson is about to re-release the Dekker Lost Books series. And when they do, the books will sport some re-designed covers. Check them out below and leave a comment about what you think. Your opinion matters.