Every day I write

A big fat envelope came in the mail today, and what do you suppose it was? My book! Yes, friends, yours truly has now been published in book form, and they can't take that away from me.

The tome in question is 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, to which dozens of writers contributed short tributes to great records. A sequel of sorts to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1001 Albums is published by Britain's Quintet Publishing, and according to the Amazon entry, it's due out Feb. 7.

It's funny how this all came about. My old grad school friend Alison, a Londoner, dates the book's project director. She knew I was always game for freelance writing work, and that I had expertise in country music. And so I joined the team -- one of the book's Leading International Critics, as the jacket says -- to review albums by the likes of Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings and Lucinda Williams.

My first book. Hot damn.