My younger son has always wanted a dog. I, who read/saw MARLEY & ME, am a lot less sure about this concept. A few weeks ago, a teacher at his school told us about the Seeing Eye Dog program where people raise and nurture puppies from the time they are weaned until they are old enough to train. Thus our time with the dog would have a definitive start/stop date. This sounded reasonable --- and altruistic --- so I started to explore it.

Speaking with a program coordinator, I was told that first we would have to go to a Puppy Meeting on the first or third Monday of a month. Sounded good. I also was told we would need to join the 4H Club. Sounded reasonable. I was then whipping out my calendar to schedule the puppy’s arrival and thinking about things it would need --- like chew toys so it would not chew on wood around the house. I was thinking a chew toy necklace would be a good thing since it always would be handy and wondered if they had been invented.

In the midst of this conversation, the puppy coordinator told me that left alone puppies could be VERY destructive in their playful way. This was sounding a bit ominous. I had a puppy as a child. I remember Tippy being lured to the car with my mom’s lipstick. I remember Tippy running away with it. I remember Tippy coming back with red all over his coat. I reminded myself not to try to lure the puppy with lipstick.

Our next step will be a puppy meeting in April. By the way, I thought in my naiveté that these were meetings for the puppy families to see the puppies. Rather it’s a playdate for the puppies themselves. Who knew? Clearly I am on a pretty steep learning curve here. That said, I really admire the concept of the program, though I think we would be excellent puppy babysitters for those in the program who are traveling rather than official puppy families --- something even more contained than the 10 months I had been considering. I see less gnawing in that picture. It would end up as a short story and a short feature, not a longer book and a major motion picture. More to come on this as we continue on this adventure.

Thursday I am headed to the Virginia Festival of the Book where I kick off the event with an event called Wine and Words, with David Baldacci and Adriana Trigiani, which promises to be memorable. Over the course of the next few days, John Grisham, Brad Meltzer, Katherine Neville, Mary Doria Russell and way too many other authors to mention will be on hand for this bookish weekend. If you are planning to attend, let me know! I would love to say hi. By the way, one of my favorite yarn shops is in the mall there. It’s called The Needle Lady and I will be making a pilgrimage there. I am driving down so there is lots of room for yarn!

Our new featured author this week may be familiar to many of you. Lisa Jackson is a writer whose works we enjoy sharing with you, as she is a talented storyteller. In MALICE, her new romantic suspense novel releasing on March 31st, the mysterious reappearance of a long-deceased wife followed by a string of odd murders forces a New Orleans detective to reexamine his past. We have 10 copies of MALICE to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. If you are interested, please fill out this form by Friday, March 20th.

Our offer for an advance reading copy of Lisa Scottoline’s new one, LOOK AGAIN, is still open until next Friday. We also have a link to a terrific video where Lisa tours her local Borders store and shares her favorite thriller titles with readers. She’s really impressive with her ongoing conversation as she plucks titles from the shelves. Give that woman a talk show!

For those of you in book groups, we have a Book Group Survey on ReadingGroupGuides.com. It’s the first survey since 2001, and as we were pulling together the questions, it was interesting to see how much had changed in the past eight years. If you are in a book club, you can answer the survey here. We will be pulling together a Bookreporter.com survey in the next two months and look forward to hearing feedback from our non-book club readers there.

The National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced this week, and we have them for you here.

I have a quiet weekend planned. Lots and lots of reading is on the agenda. My older son is trekking up to Maine for spring break to look at lighthouses. This is a lot more adventuresome than my typical college break where I would head to some beach in a warm place. Come to think of it, though, I always did have a book with me! Have a great week. Here’s hoping there are flowers blooming wherever you are...we sure don’t have any color here yet. And be careful, because it IS Friday the 13th....

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Gregg Olsen's latest work, HEART OF ICE, marks the return of protagonists Sheriff Emily Kenyon and her daughter Jenna, who were first introduced in last year's A COLD DARK PLACE. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Olsen explains what prompted him to resurrect these two characters despite his earlier objections to writing series, but discusses why they won't be making any more appearances in his work in the near future. He also reveals what fascinates him most about the inner workings of killers, gives his two cents on the nature vs. nurture argument, and shares details about two upcoming projects --- a true crime book due out next winter and a serial-killer thriller called VICTIM SIX.

HEART OF ICE by Gregg Olsen (Thriller)
Cherrystone, Washington is the kind of small town where strangers are few and gossip is plentiful. Sheriff Emily Kenyon is investigating the murder of a pregnant young woman whose husband is the prime suspect, yet nagging doubts remain. Immersed in uncovering the truth, Emily doesn’t realize she’s become involved in something much bigger --- a case both dark and horrifying, one that will pit her against a killer whose vengeance knows no limits, and whose next target is chillingly close. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read a review of HEART OF ICE.
-Click here to read an excerpt from HEART OF ICE.

Kyle Mills is the New York Times bestselling author of 10 books, including DARKNESS FALLS and THE SECOND HORSEMAN. Over the years he has consistently impressed critics with his insightful and entertaining contemporary political thrillers. In LORDS OF CORRUPTION, his new novel releasing on March 24th, Mills delivers a pulse-pounding, yet sophisticated, examination of the political turmoil in Africa.

-Click here to read a second excerpt from LORDS OF CORRUPTION.
-Click here to read Kyle Mills's bio.
-Click here to see Kyle Mills's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for LORDS OF CORRUPTION.
-Visit Kyle Mills's official website, www.KyleMills.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about LORDS OF CORRUPTION:
When Josh Hagarty is recruited by an obscure charity to manage a farming project in a war-torn region of Africa, he is eager to sign on and atone for a past he regrets. However, before he can even settle into his new life, he begins to suspect that his new employer may not be the philanthropic organization it portrays. Josh tries to lose himself in his work, but soon the precariousness of his situation becomes impossible to ignore.

ReadingGroupGuides.com is conducting a survey of book groups. Our goal is to identify trends and topics that are of interest to book groups that we can share with publishers and authors, so they can provide the information and resources to enhance your meetings and discussions. We have not done a survey since 2001, and we know that a lot has changed in the last eight years! Thus, we would love to hear from you.

GraphicNovelReporter.com is brand new this week, updated with broad-ranging content that represents the diverse tastes of our readers. With an eye for serving the needs of librarians, teachers and general readers of the format, we’re keeping the content fresh. This week’s update includes an interview with actor Chris Meloni, from “Law and Order: SVU,” who voices Green Lantern in an upcoming animated movie. Plus, we have a feature on Robert Venditti, author of the bestselling sci-fi series The Surrogates, plus a look at the upcoming sequel. Speaking of sneak peeks, Eisner Award-winning author Gene Luen Yang has a new graphic novel coming soon, Eternal Smile, and we have a special preview.

One feature we’re all very excited about is an excellent op-ed from teacher John Weaver, who explains how he incorporated Watchmen into his high school English coursework. The children have responded enthusiastically, and it’s been a tremendous experience for everyone involved. His special report explains how Weaver made it work and what it’s teaching his students.

We also have a Watchmen movie contest where readers can win almost $70 worth of free books, reviews of new books, a look at the upcoming Nick Magazine Comics Awards, a feature on turning prose novels into comics, and much, much more.

GraphicNovelReporter.com is quickly becoming the premier destination for comics lovers and those who want to know more about the format. We’re making it accessible for everyone; check it out and see for yourself.