Happy Saint Valentine's Day

Happy V-Day, everyone. How fitting is it that this holiday of love is named after a martyr (numerous "St. Valentine"s were priests who were persecuted and killed). Aren't we all martyrs for love, in some way?

I'm still answering questions and chatting over on the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi Book Club website through the end of February. Here's an entry from today along the St. Valentine's Day track:

You know, since today is St. Valentine’s Day I thought I'd bring up an interesting aspect of the book, i.e. the idea that The Suicide Collectors, along with all the other stuff, is also a simple love story. So far only two people, one the book editor for the Pioneer Press and the other my father (of all people), have made this observation to me directly.

The novel begins with Norman finding his wife dead and then fighting for her body. The entire plot of the book, in many ways, hinges on his love for Jordan and the despair he feels after her loss. Before her death, he's content to wait out the plague in his hometown in Florida. After her death, he becomes untethered and starts his long journey. He is heartbroken and lost and thus he takes to the road, and no matter what surreal and horrific things he encounters along the way, Jordan is always on his mind.