For anyone wanting to discuss my book Da Vinci in America, I'm actually the 'Author of the Month' over at Graham Hancock's website so drop on in if you have any questions about the book (or any topic really). In my capacity of AOM, I have contributed an article to GHHQ titled "Dan Brown and the Udjat", and will be available each day to discuss any topics at all on the Author of the Month messageboard. Thanks to Graham and Steve for having me at their site.

We have experienced some server problems over the last few hours, please bear with us while we attempt to pinpoint the source of the problem. Needless to say, if you have troubles reaching us, just try a little bit later. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

A few people have emailed regarding delays in delivery of my book Da Vinci in America from Amazon.com. Amazon have said that they are "still trying to order the book" - this is absolute nonsense, as DVIA is available on a 24 hour turnaround from the supplier (as evidenced by Barnes and Noble only taking 4 days from order to delivery for U.S. customers).

I would urge anyone waiting for the book from Amazon.com to cancel your order and instead purchase the book through Barnes and Noble (exactly the same price). It takes no time to set up a new account, as I happily found out myself. For those in the United Kingdom, there is no problem with Amazon UK, which I'm glad to report is shipping within 24 hours.

I have emailed three complaints to Amazon.com regarding their obvious problem in ordering, if you wish to add your voice then please do: go to this page, click on 'Contact Us' at the bottom and then let them know that you have been told the book is readily available, and query why then it hasn't been ordered from the supplier yet. Thanks to anyone affected for your patience, and my sincere personal apologies for these unnecessary delays.

A quick tip of the hat to one of TDG's friends, Alan Boyle, who posts his 'Cosmic Log' over at MSNBC. Yesterday Alan kindly posted a generous review of my book Da Vinci in America, which sent such numbers here that we actually had server problems (while not exactly a 'slashdotting', we've come up with the new term 'hard-boyled').

So a weekend shout-out back to Alan and his Cosmic Log, which I recommend as a daily stop to all TDG regulars as a good source of news and intelligent commentary on science, space, and other assorted topics. And to make it easy for you, you can even find a link to the Cosmic Log in the 'Best Links' section on the left-hand side of the page.

A note to explain a couple of changes on the page. The observant among you may have noticed a new 'block' towards the bottom of the left-hand side of the page, titled 'Best Links'. This is a quick sampling of links to the best sites (and some of our best friends as well) we recommend. More will be added as we think of them.

Also, on the right-hand side of the page (under the poll), there is now a 'Cool Things' block, in which we'll be posting some of the best new books, CDs and DVDs (or alternatively, something older that we're getting into for the first time). Remember if you are a member you can turn these blocks on or off, as is the case with most of the other blocks - each account can be customised to present only the information you want to see.

For those in the U.S. who are interested in my new book, Da Vinci in America: Unlocking the Secrets of Dan Brown's 'The Solomon Key', I'm happy to announce that it is now available for ordering from Amazon US (also available from Amazon UK). The book information and cover image should be put in place soon, if you want that information in the meantime have a look at the Amazon UK link above. I also note that Amazon is predicting a 3-4 week wait, this is not the case and should actually be 1 week (and less once orders start to roll in).

A quick note: we have had a deluge of spammed comments from multiple IP addresses, and as such I have banned all anonymous posting of messages for now. I know that is an inconvenience for non-members, but for now it is the only solution unless I sit here 24/7 hitting the delete key so you don't have to read about online poker options.

The easy solution, of course, is to become a member. It's free, it's simple, and you get the extra options of configuring the website how you want it (different themes, personalised news feeds etc). I heartily recommend it.

In case you missed it, Cernig - one of our Knights of the Daily Grail - posted a blog a couple of weeks ago, featuring some of his personal prose and inviting contributions from others:

It occurs to me that we have an incredible number of talented wordsmiths amongst our members. Not all of us feel forced to write pedantic and deliberately obfuscatory rants in an attempt to impose our spirituality on others or to justify our leanings towards a spiritual path, but just occasionally those of us who have a mystical bent may attempt to express that leaning. I therefore am opening this blog as a place to post such, please feel free to do so.

Others have gladly taken Cernig up on his invitation, and his blog - titled "Ars Gratia Artis" - has taken on a life of its own. Take a look, it's becoming somewhat of our own 'poetry corner'.

John Mack, the infamous Harvard researcher of the alien abduction phenomenon and its resultant effects on the psyche, has been knocked down and killed by a drunk driver in London.

To read the full announcement go here.

Ed's note: - I've also written a quick tribute this morning to Dr Mack. Please excuse its brevity.

Whoah, what just happened? If you use the theme with the black background, you should have noticed that the page has returned to the old "Daily Grail" look (if not, try a Shift-Reload with your browser or even clear your browser's cache).

The reason for this change is that, due to the massive success of Simon Cox's Cracking the Davinci Code (Amazon US and UK), the DUAT Magazine project has been on the back-burner for a while as Simon deals with the necessary publicity commitments etc. As such, I've returned the site to its old form and name: "The Daily Grail". Please note that Simon and Mark are still committed to producing DUAT Magazine when time is available, and that I fully support their efforts in doing so.

Those who come to this site using the duatmagazine.com address - if you would like to keep viewing this page you will need to change your bookmark to http://www.dailygrail.com, as I will be redirecting duatmagazine.com back to its original site. If anybody has any questions or problems, feel free to email me via userhelp@dailygrail.com.