It was an exciting day in the offices of BradParksBooks.com when—with the February 1 release date closing in fast—the first copies of Brad's new novel, EYES OF THE INNOCENT, arrived from the warehouse.

Brad wasn't around (we think he was off washing the Barnes & Noble fiction buyer's car... again), so we made the executive decision to crack open the box and take a gander.

"Look at this book," said Sarah, the smart intern, caressing the glossy dust jacket. "It really is gorgeous."

"All except for the author photo," said Zach, the silly intern. "I swear, Brad needs a makeover before he goes out on tour."

"Oh, a makeover!" exclaimed Maggie, the clueless intern. "I love makeovers! Can we, can we, can we?"

"Maggie, I was kiddi..." Zach started.

"We'll start with his hair, of course," Maggie said. "What do you think about a little more modern cut? And some highlights? Or maybe just frost the tips. We'll do his nails, of course. Then we should make him take off his glasses..."

"He doesn't wear glasses," Sarah interjected.

"Then we'll have to get him some," Maggie said. "Whenever the ugly-but-not-actually-ugly girl gets a makeover in a teen movie, she always takes off her glasses. It's one of the rules."

"I'm not sure..."

"Then we'll pick him a totally hot outfit!" Maggie continued. "Come on, let's go check out his closet!"

Zach has such a big crush on Maggie, we knew he was going to be a fan of anything involving her and a closet. So the rest of us tagged along as chaperones and made the field trip to Brad's house. We crowded into his closet and started sifting through, uh, let's see here... blue shirt, white shirt, blue shirt... khaki pants, gray pants, khaki pants... blue blazer, black blazer, gray blazer.

"Seriously?" Maggie said. "I thought he just picked the same outfit all the time by mistake. You mean this is all he has?!?"

From elsewhere in the house, Brad's wife shouted, "Welcome to my world!"

Well, so much for the makeover. Nevertheless, we're excited to release Brad's schedule for EYES OF THE INNOCENT. Coming on the heels of the enormously successful Sometimes-Dashing Tour™, we're calling this one the Still-Dashing Tour™. It includes nearly thirty public appearances throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Texas. So please save room on your calendars for:

In other news, the rave reviews continue to pour in for EYES OF THE INNOCENT. Kirkus, Booklist and Publishers Weekly all had favorable things to say. And Library Journal gave it a starred review, saying, "Zany characters, witty dialog, and a plot that races to a bang-up finish are guaranteed to have readers cheering for the good guys. Parks's sequel to his acclaimed debut, FACES OF THE GONE, is as good if not better."

His wardrobe on the other hand? Well, it's as bad if not worse. But we hope to see you on the road anyway.

Yours in Sartorial Agony,

The BradParksBooks.com Interns