•Â Schlepped The Kid off with a sitter tonight, and had dinner out with our friends John and Catty. (Also parents of a 2-year old boy.) Oh man, how nice it was to dine in peace. Speaking in actual complete sentences, whilst sipping cocktails and eating fine food. Moms and dads, you KNOW what i'm talking about.

• Lots of stuff going on. The family is getting ready to leave for Australia in just over a week, and i've been feverishly checking things off of my to-do list. I will have two new books off to the printer (Aleksander Zograf's Regards from Serbia, and James Kochalka's American Elf Volume 2), and two books "in the can," and ready to send to the printer when i return. (Those would be Jeff Lemire's Tales from the Farm, and Jeffrey Brown's Feeble Attempts.) Many thanks to Chris Ross for a stellar production job on American Elf.

Meanwhile, intern Jacq is helping with a publicity campaign for all four books, and will be working in my stead … answering emails and what have you … while i'm gone (scuba diving with sharks off the coast of Sydney).

•Â Promotional art Jeff Lemire has provided for his forthcoming, and very ass-kicking Essex County trilogy.

• A few nights ago i read a delightful little short story by my friend Georgene Smith Goodin (and published by her husband, and my pal, Rob Goodin, under his label Robot Publishing), titled The Fish Keeper. A sad love story that has at least a small amount of truth in the fiction, about a fish keeper and his quest for companionship. Featuring beautiful spot-illustrations by Rob, Georgene hits another one out of the park with this truly wonderful chapbook. Highly recommended. For more information, click contact on the front page, and send an email request. (Georgene's first chapbook, The Suicidal Dog, is available too, and also well worth reading.)

•Â Jeremy Tinder will be doing a collection of shorts with us this Summer, titled Black Ghost Apple Factory. Here is the cover, tres chic!!