Yesterday afternoon, just before heading out to our Washington, DC signing, we received the news that THE WINDS OF DUNE will debut at #15 on the New York Times bestseller list after only one week on sale.  This is our tenth DUNE novel in a row to hit the NYT list (and my 48th national or international bestseller).

In 1976, Frank Herbert’s CHILDREN OF DUNE became the very first genre science fiction novel to hit the New York Times bestseller list.  GOD-EMPEROR OF DUNE, HERETICS OF DUNE, and CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE all made the list.  Now, 33 years later, THE WINDS OF DUNE is the fourteenth consecutive DUNE novel to be a New York Times bestseller — a winning streak unmatched by any other original science fiction series.  Our publicist wrote us to say that not even Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind have matched that.  Tor sent us a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

So we were in a very good mood as we prepared to go to our signing at Borders (near Fairfax, VA).  The bookstore had blocked off a reserved parking space for us, with barricades and balloons.  A large crowd showed up, as well as six enthusiastic members of the 501st Legion, the international Star Wars fan club, who went to the store’s back room to change into their full costume (stormtrooper, bike trooper, TIE pilot, and others). 

We had signed at this particular store for THE MACHINE CRUSADE six years ago, and many of the fans came back.  One fan, Shawn, drove over three hours each way to get his books signed and to take photos.  I was also surprised to see my old friend Mark Rotter–one of my first acquaintances when I started work at the Lawrence Livermore Lab right out of college–and his wife Charlotte, both of whom were on assignment in the Washington, DC area.  A close friend of Brian’s daughter Margaux–Alexis–also came; Brian had a pleasant time chatting with Alexis in the coffee shop after the signing, and I got a chance to talk with Mark and Charlotte. 

This morning we’re off to do a base signing at Quantico, then two more interviews in the hotel this afternoon, and an evening appearance in Bethesda, MD.  Tomorrow, at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Pittsburgh.