604 W 26th Street (a little east of Lyndale) They had a sign that read:

plots with
Guns allowed
on these premises
Once Upon a Crime Books

Of course I totally missed the fine print & meant to just go in and thank the proprietor .. . . but we got sucked in. I was walking with wife, child and stroller & we'd just spent quite a while in the park. So my child explored the store and the owner and I chatted. I picked up yet another Ellis Peters book (because I only had my DL, Carry Permit, and enough cash for one paperback with a buck to spare. Ellis Peters is one of my target of opportunity authors. The owner didn't flinch at all at as we came the the realization that I'd failed to read the fine print & was very kind with my 18 month old child running around.

I'll be going back there and I encourage others interested in the mystery/thriller genre to buy your books there.

Love that place; I've spoken there, a couple of times, and they carry my mysteries.

Mysteries?

The man has some other books out besides the fantasy ones. That's a good reminder, I've been meaning to look for them...

Home Front and Family Matters. David Gross has a small cameo in one.

Not that Joel needs the press, but I thought both books referenced were excellent. Joel writes specifically, but not with a lot of wasted words. He really paints a vivid picture, brings the characters, who are real people with faults, to life, all while keeping the reader engaged in the story. If you find his books, pick them up, you will not be disappointed.

I enjoyed the hell out of Home Front and Family Matters, and have reread them several times. They are that good.

Knowing Joel, it's a little odd hearing his voice as I read the words, which are, not surprisingly, very Joelish.

Ditto for me; great books!

Sounds like I know what and where I am buying, next time my money clip is thicker.

I take it that Home Front and Family Matters aren't under a pseudonym?

Nope. I don't use those.

I dunno. I deliberately let Sparky -- the narrator, for those who haven't read the books -- have a narrative voice very similar to mine. But, at least in my head, he's the only one who sounds at all like me. Tenishia was a lot of work, and Bridget's, well, herself. Where I do appear -- Josh Ginsberg is me, actually, and by no particular coincidence, his best friend was my best friend when I lived in Northwood, and I don't think he sounds at all like me, now, but more like I did some decades ago.

And, at least to my ear, David Gross sounds like David Gross. Only a little less prickly. (David and I actually discussed that, when he helped me with the scene where he appears.)

Well, yeah, I was thinking of Sparky in particular.

We actually have a few nationally known bookstores, Once upon a Crime, Uncle Hugo and Uncle Edgar's, Midway Books. J&J Books in Anoka used to be an almost daily haunt of mine growing up. I was first exposed to Doc Savage and John Carter of Mars there as well as Heinlein, Lovecraft, Micheal Moorecock, Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Frank Herbert, Jerry Pournelle, Gordon Dickson, John D. McDonald and at least fifty others. Jean sold out or some such a few years ago but it used to be (and may still be) if you wanted a rare mystery that was the second place you called. Books and magazines are a lot like groceries to me I go shopping for them almost daily and I start twitching if I don't have something to read.

Once Upon is about the only place authors are guaranteed to stop for a signing in the Cities. I've been to reading/signings there for people like Randy Wayne White, T Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block and James Lee Burke. When they haven't done any of the B&N mall stops, they still go there.

My only complaint is that when someone popular is there, you have to find a seat with a shoehorn.

Ok, I've got to get a plug in for Once Upon A Crime as well.

I took the day off today to spend with my wife (her birthday), and we spent the early afternoon at MIA. Driving back towards Lyndale, I happened to see the sign for OUAC and just about gave us whiplash spinning around to get a parking spot.

$75+ later...

I left with a signed copy of Family Matters, and the owner is going to look for a copy of Home Front for me.

Now, regardless of Joel's signature, it certainly didn't cost me $75 for one book...

So yeah, my wife left with a ton of books as well. Last minute birthday presents.

Great place, my wife and I loved it. I think they just got two more regulars.

-Mark