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Hit Man, Hit Books

The Stamp Collecting Report. I'm Lloyd de Vries.

The latest in award-winning author Lawrence Block's "Hit Man" series is now in bookstores.

The protagonist, Keller, is a killer.

But he's also a stamp collector.

"He was going to retire. I wondered what he would do in retirement, and I decided that 
stamps would work well for him."
RUNS :06

Block is a stamp collector himself.

"I collect the same as Keller, actually. I collect worldwide up to 1940." 

LdeV: "So you collect what's called the Classic Period. Any reason why?"

"I just find the classic period more interesting that way. Now, I extend it a little. I go 
up through the King George VI issues and British Empire...just as Keller does, 
coincidentally enough."

LdeV: "Who's got the better collection, you or Keller?"

"oh, Keller has a much better collection, because he's certainly got the greater 
discretionary income. He made a wiser career choice, I think, than I did."
RUNS :34

Not according to Lawrence Block's fans! The books have gotten a lot of attention in the 
stamp collecting community.

"I think people always like reading fiction where they can identify with areas of 
interest in the books, and also a lot of people have said that it's nice reading something 
with a philatelic background, where you can tell that the writer has at least some knowledge 
of what he's writing about."
RUNS :22

So Block has produced a special philatelic edition of the latest book, Hit And Run. It has 
an imprint, and comes--

"with a custom-made U-S postage stamp on the title page, and affixed to the page with a city 
and date cancel stamp from publication day."
RUNS :12

Most of the special editions are sold already. You might say that, once again, Keller has 
made a killing.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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