apparently, it's pimp your friends day

While I'm at it, I may as well mention that my friend, old neighbor, and fellow wickedly cool PTA dad Mark Stevens wrote a little novel a bit back, and it's getting some attention:

Final word: The Colorado crime scene has gained a strong new voice, as well as a new character to watch in Allison Coil.

This bit from a few weeks back was nice, also:

It's been nearly 24 years - and four manuscripts - since Mark Stevens worked for the Rocky. The former crack reporter and genuinely nice guy also spent time as a field producer for The McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour and 11 years as communications director for Denver Public Schools - all while writing novels in his free time and chasing down publishers.

Finally, his hard work has paid off with his debut, Antler Dust (Paandaa Entertainment, $24.95), a mystery set in the Colorado Flat Tops Wilderness. Bestselling suspense-master Stephen White lauds the book as "a wonderful, compelling debut - you won't find a fresher, more satisfying voice." And if you like this one, there's three more novels stashed in a drawer somewhere in Stevens' home, waiting to find audiences of their own.