Jess Walter returns home with his ‘Cold Millions’

Above : Spokane-based author Jess Walter and his new novel, “The Cold Millions.” (Publishers Weekly)

It’s been months now since I ordered Jess Walter ’s new novel “The Cold Millions.”

And so I was happy receive an email a day ago from Auntie’s Bookstore letting me know that my book would be available for pickup this coming Monday.

Here’s what the email said: “Hi Dan! Thanks for pre-ordering ‘The Cold Millions’! We’ll have a signed copy ready to go for you Monday at 9 a.m., and Northwest Passages will send you an email with the link to the event that same afternoon.”

The event the message is referring to is a 7 p.m. Northwest Passages Livestream with the author that night.

An author, I might add, whom I know personally. But that should come as no surprise. Before he quit to write books, Jess and I both worked as Spokesman-Review staff writers for a decade or so.

The first time I met Jess, though, was some time before. In fact, I didn’t even remember the occasion until one day, years later, when he reminded me.

It was in 1981, and the high school that he attended, East Valley, was in the midst of a drive to a AA state football title (which it would win, defeating Arlington 19-14 in Seattle).

One of the team’s best athletes was Chris Bennett, a hulking tackle (and later owner of the Bennidito’s Pizza locations) who would win all-state honors. At the time, I was writing sports, so I interviewed Bennett in the locker room after a game.

And apparently, some skinny kid came up to me and introduced himself. I don’t really remember. But that kid, who turned out to be Jess, does.

I would come to know him better when, years later, he joined the newspaper staff. And even after he left I kept track of him. I interviewed him for the paper a few times, and I even moderated an interview and Q&A with him one night before a full crowd at Auntie’s.

So I expect to be among those who will sign on for the Monday night Zoom event. I want to hear what he has to say about his new book, which the pre-release publicity describes as a “An intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice,  and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early twentieth-century America…”

Even more, I want to witness yet again the mature novelist that once-skinny kid has become.