December 14

Next update January 4

Last news update before the New Year.

Wow – crazy busy right now. In addition to Revan coming out and cracking the New York Times bestseller list top 10 in its debut, we’ve got a little game called Star Wars: The Old Republic up and running. It’s been a long road, but we finally made it!

Speaking of long roads, I’m only just now recovering from running the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon in Las Vegas. The run went well, but after the race there were some serious organizational issues. It’s a shame, because the problems after the race kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. (Or maybe I was just choking on my own vomit after running 13.1 miles.) Fortunately the rest of the Vegas trip was good.  Saw Jabbawockeez – which I highly recommend – and ate too much and slept too little. Gambled way, way, way, too much: made some money in craps, then lost it (and more) playing blackjack and poker. Typical Vegas experience for me.

I’ve also fallen way, way ,way behind on answering my e-mails. I’m struggling to catch up, but I’m only into late November so far. I guess this is the drawback to answering e-mails in person, but I strongly believe that if fans take the time to write to me, I should take the time to answer. Maybe someday I’ll be so famous and popular this won’t be possible (dare to dream!), but for now I’ll keep plugging away to get you a response… just be a little patient with me. Having no updates between now and the New Year will help, but with Christmas and visiting family up in Canada (our little taste of winter), I’m sure I won’t get as much done as I want to.

Finally, before I sign off for this update, I want to talk about a very special young man named Daniel Lovegrove. Daniel was my second cousin; he was a great kid, a dean’s list student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus and a big fan of my books. Tragically, he gave his life trying to save another person this past summer. To honor his memory, friends and family have set up the Daniel Lovegrove Memorial Fund to provide 5 $1,000 bursaries to deserving post-secondary students each year. Everyone involved with the fund is a volunteer, so a full 100% of all donations go directly to the students. They are still in the process of filing the paperwork to get registered charitable status from Revenue Canada, and hope to be able to issue Canadian tax receipts for donations starting early next year.

Please check out Daniel’s memorial Facebook page and the official website of Daniel’s Memorial Fund to donate, or even just to learn more about this remarkable young man who never hesitated to make the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you.

Okay, I guess that’s everything for now. See you in 2012.

Drew