My big news for the week is that Samhain will publish Wedding Bell Blues, the sequel to Venus in Blue Jeans, sometime this summer (tentatively in July). In a lot of ways Wedding Bell Blues picks up where Venus leaves off. Cal and Docia are getting married, Reba is running the show, Wonder is sitting at the Dew Drop making sarcastic comments, and everybody drinks a lot of wine. But I’m also introducing some new characters, most of them Toleffsons.

Remember how Cal has three brothers? Of course they all come to the wedding. His brother Pete is his best man and his brother Lars is his groomsman. Pete’s a workaholic county attorney from Des Moines, trying to relax so that he can enjoy his brief vacation. But he’s a natural protector, and even though he tries not to get involved in the whole best man thing, he can’t help himself. Docia’s maid of honor is Janie Dupree, from Venus. Janie and Pete don’t exactly hit it off at first, but of course first impressions aren’t always lasting. Pete and Janie have a lot to contend with, given that Mama Toleffson and Reba Kent don’t exactly hit it off.

A bigger problem is brother Lars and his trophy wife Sherice. Since Lars is a Toleffson, he’s 1) a nice guy and 2) Mr. Responsible. He’s also an accountant, which means he may never be the billionaire that Sherice is looking for. Sherice, in turn, is ready to find a more promising husband, someone who’ll keep her in the style to which she’d like to be come accustomed. Texas seems like a good place to look for billionaires, but she has to get rid of Lars first. Needless to say this marriage doesn’t have much of a future, but Lars has a daughter to worry about, too.

So what about the other brother? That’s Eric, the oldest brother nobody likes much because he was such a bully when they were kids. Cal hasn’t invited him to the wedding. But that doesn’t mean Eric won’t show up, probably at the point when people least expect him.

Does the wedding take place? Of course. This is Cal and Docia we’re talking about. Will it be the wedding Reba envisions? That’s not quite such a sure thing. Will there be all kinds of problems, comic and otherwise? Also of course. Will Pete and Janie fall in love? Well, it is a romance, after all. 

I’ll be posting more about Wedding Bell Blues, including excerpts, as we get closer to the release date, but I hope y’all will join me back in Konigsburg. Like Tom Bodett used to say, we’ll leave the light on for you.