Used Book Haul

My wife and I were out running errands today.  One shop she visited was next door to…you guessed it… a used book store. Twenty minutes and ten dollars later, I emerged with:

HERITAGE OF BLACKOAKS by Ashley Carter (Harry Whittington)
SCANDAL OF FALCONHURST by Ashley Carter
ROGUE OF FALCONHURST by Ashley Carter
SWORD OF THE GOLDEN STUD by Ashley Carter (damn, I was going to use that title for my next DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel)
GUILTY BYSTANDER by Wade Miller
DRISCOLL’S DIAMONDS by Ian MacAlister (Marvin Albert)
THE MIERNIK DOSSIER by Charles McCarry

…then I got home and discovered I already have DRISCOLL’S DIAMONDS and SCANDAL OF FALCONHURST. Oh well.

Used Book Haul

Between meetings today, I snuck into a used bookstore and here’s what I walked out with…

UNDER THE BURNING SUN by H.A. DeRosso
VENDETTA by Ed Gorman
DONOVAN by Elmer Kelton
.357 VIGILANTE by Ian Ludlow (I couldn’t resist getting an extra copy)
.357 VIGILANTE: MAKE THEM PAY by Ian Ludlow (ditto)
SECOND SIGHT by Charles McCarry
SECRET LOVERS by Charles McCarry
LAST SUPPER by Charles McCarry

I am, I Said

I’ve always posted under my own name where ever I go on the Internet. I consider it a matter of principle. I can’t help noticing that 99% of the most opinionated flamers and abusive insult-slingers always hide behind pseudonyms in newsgroups and back-blogs. That makes it easy for them to behave in ways they never would if they had to take personal responsibility for their words and deeds. But that’s my reasoning…what’s yours for using your own name or choosing to use a pseudonym or handle instead?

Used Book Haul

I walked into a used bookstore in Ojai… and walked out $22 lighter, but with these books in my bag:

Valleys of the Assassins by Ian MacAlister (Marv Albert)

Strike Force 7 by Ian MacAlister

Apache Rising by Marv Albert

The Last Smile by Marv Albert

Sweetheart by Andrew Coburn

The Trespassers by Andrew Coburn

Strictly for the Boys by Harry Whittington

Biscuit Shooter by Clifton Adams

I Am, I Said

16_jpgAre you one of those people who can’t get enough of Neil Diamond? Cn5You know you are. I see you there, in your sequined shirt, working on your "Love on The Rocks" fanfic. Studio 360 did an entertaining segment on Super Diamond, a Neil Diamond tribute band. The segment focuses on a guy calling himself "Surreal Neil," but the best of the Diamond imitators is the unsung (pun intended) Kevin Hogan, aka  Fantastic Diamond. Please don’t ask me how I know that. Listen for yourself.

Comment Spam

I’ve started using Typepad’s new option requiring people to register with Typekey before leaving comments… I’m hoping this will cut down on some of the "trolling" done by anonymous users who post simply to keep the flames burning. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience this will cause, at first, to my friends and regular participants on this blog.

Book PR 101

Author Monica Jackson found these two interesting Book Standard articles about book publicists and their advice to authors. I thought this bit was particularly helpful:

Unless you’re friends with (and I mean have had the person into your home
numerous times), do NOT contact the media yourself. Reviewers and feature
writers do not like to be called directly by an author. Do NOT pay people to go
into bookstores and turn your books face out on the shelves, and/or pay people
to hang outside the bookstore and harass people going in with news about the
book. (Yes, this happens). DON’T ask your publicist to get you on
Oprah.

Oh hell. There goes my entire media campaign for my next book…now what do I do? And how do I break it to my grandmother that I’m not going to pay her to go into Sav-on and turn my books face out any more?

Colonial Fan Force

My brother Tod saw the latest STAR WARS movie and in his musings about the morons who camped out at the wrong theatre for the last few weeks, his thoughts naturally turned to the folks at the Colonial Fan Force.  Who are they? They are the diehard BATTLESTAR GALATICA fans who spent thousands of dollars on full-page newspaper and magazine ads clamoring for a feature film version of the original series with the original cast...even though the show had already been revived as a SciFi Channel miniseries with an all-new cast.

The miniseries begat a new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series, which has turned into a great show  (far, far, FAR better than the original) and is big hit. And Richard Hatch, one of the stars of the old series, has seemingly
betrayed the Colonial Fan Force cause by taking a recurring role in the
new show.

Bsgdvdad8uzSo where does that leave the dedicated soldiers of the Colonial Fan Force? Have they given up their campaign, satisfied now that the show is back and doing well? I thought I’d check in on them and see.

Well, it’s not enough that BSG is back and a hit. They’re purists, my friends. They are still pining to see Herb Jefferson and Laurette Spang in space-age corduroy…but they’ve given up on seeing a big-screen version of the original series. Now they’ll settle for a  direct-to-DVD movie.

"There are still a significant number of people who would like to see a reunion movie based on the original 1978 series… there are still viewers waiting to see the original series concluded… The universe and DVD collections are big enough to hold both the new series and the made for DVD adventure of the original series!"

They are launching a "grass-roots" campaign to make their dream a reality.  They’ve already designed the DVD box, so they are way ahead of the game.   

They are imploring their Fan Force to distribute their flier at coffee shops, comic book stores, Star Trek conventions, Falafel huts, Jews for Jesus volleyball games, tupperware parties,   tattoo parlors, Scientology meetings, dog kennels, plastic surgery clinics, bass fishing competitions, bar mitzvahs, Jenny Craig Diet Centers, any place people congregate and share the undying, passionate dream of bringing back the original BSG with the original  cast.

If you can’t send them a check, considering giving them your old car, truck, or recreational vehicle. I’m sure they’ll even come and pick it up for you.

(Click on the picture for a larger image… and to download to pass out at your next major family gathering)