RACING THE ALPHABET

Crime and mystery writer Sue Grafton started off the alphabet with A is for Alibi in 1982, and since then has worked her way up to U, with ever-increasing popularity.   The print run for the first -- "A" -- book, which introduced hard-boiled heroine Kinsey Millhone, was just 7,500.  The first run for the latest, U is for Undertow, was in the hundreds of thousands, and it is currently number two on the amazon.com crime and mystery bestseller list.

Obviously, everyone is wondering what the author is going to do after "Z" has been written, published, and become that very predictable bestseller.  According to People magazine, Sue Grafton's plan is for "a very long nap--and then I will party."