Four SEVEN years!! Four SEVEN** years to wait, but now, ahhh!

SJ Rozan took some time off from her Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series. It was a long wait for those of us who love her books. Sure there were some wonderful stand alones to ease the pain, but still, it's been a long time waiting.

Last year at one of the many fun events at Partners & Crime I might have just *happened* to moan, whine, beg, cajole, threaten, plead, offer bribe money, embarrass myself about mention this dreadful dry spell to the ever gracious Ms. Rozan.

She kindly offered up the information that she'd just turned in the new novel, and it would be a Lydia book. I might have screamed. I certainly huzzahed!

And now, tonight, I've got my mitts on a copy of The Shanghai Moon! With a boon companion, I slithered down to the Tenement Museum to hear SJ and the ever entertaining, always fun Henry Chang give a talk on Chinatown noir.

As soon as the enthusiastic applause for the talk ended, I hurtled to the front of the room, polevaulting over elderly ladies; the visiting conga line from the Rainbow Room; and, a platoon of autograph hunters. No fool I - I'd done a head count of the audience and an inventory of the books on the front table. I wasn't going to be one of those standing at the back of the line, sans book. No sirreee octopussy I wasn't.

Visual proof that sometimes being pushy and shovey is the only way to really get what you want:






***I was informed the wait has been seven, not four years. Time flies when you're pining for Lydia Chin!