Tonight New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz will be giving a virtual reading of his forthcoming novel The Good Guy in Second life.

The reading, Bloomberg reports, will take in the Bantam Dell Book Shop and Cafe, Bantam Dell Publishing's new Second Life stomping ground.

Bloomberg writes that the virtual Koontz will have his own likeness helped out by two virtual Bantam employees during the reading, one of which will field audience questions and relay them to the author who will answer in his real voice via an audio feed.

While the actual location will only support about 40 people, they event will be simulcast to other locations in the virtual world as well.

Russ Lawrence, president of the American Booksellers Association and owner of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, is sanguine about the prospect of virtual competition. "If publishers want growth, they have to look to reach people where they haven't before," he says. "Second Life is itself a fictional environment. Who knows, selling fiction there might be a pretty good match."

Let's just hope he's not attacked by any flying body parts. Brian Crecente