I Saw the Light

Last year, after I'd read his novel The Pale Blue Eye, I told author Louis Bayard that if it didn't win an Edgar award, there was no God.

I got to know Lou after reviewing--and loving--his previous novel, Mr. Timothy, for People, then having him on a panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book. (He'll be there again in March. Mark your calendar now!)

"Well," Lou emailed me this morning, "we're halfway there to proving God's existence. I did get nominated."

"AWWWRIGHT!!!" was my reverent and literate reply.

Read the full roster of Edgar nominees here, then read both The Pale Blue Eye and Mr. Timothy if you haven't already. And while you're at it, pick up a copy of Swing by Rupert Holmes (make sure you get one with the CD of 1940s-style music he wrote to accompany the book), whose "Curtains" is an Edgar nominee for Best Play. I'm hoping to see it in previews when I go to NY in March.

Guess I'd better remember to light the shabbat candles tonight--and put a little extra oomph into the prayers.