#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
Lee Goldberg 
My Mom Jan Curran's self-published memoir ACTIVE SENIOR LIVING is now available on the Kindle and is already doing gangbusters business. Today it was ranked #2200 in sales, #1 in Gerontology, #4 in Aging, and #4 in Self-Help/Happiness. Not bad for just two days and no PR! Way to go, Mom!
Hot, naked breasts, swollen and aching to be touched by your lips.
That's just one of the delights that the Assistance League of Ventura County is offering at their 15th Annual Authors Luncheon.
We're talking chicken breasts, of course, which will be among the luncheon items offered at the event, which is being held at the Marriott Residence Inn at Oxnard River Ridge on Mon., Feb. 8.
I'll be speaking along with authors Lisa See, Zippora Karz and Diane Worthington. Borders will be selling all of our books at the event. Registration starts at 9:15 a.m., with the program beginning at 10 a.m. Lunch will be served, and a no-host bar will be available. The cost is $50, of which $29 is tax-deductible. Reservations are due by Sat., Jan. 30.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to fund scholarships for five Ventura County college students.
The Assistance League, one of the county’s oldest philanthropic organizations, has been serving the children of Ventura County for 56 years.
Call (805) 643-2458 for more information.
Canadian author Paul Quarrington has died after a short battle with cancer. He was well-known up north but never got the acclaim he deserved down here. He wrote two of the best and and funniest non-fiction books about fishing ever (Fishing With My Old Guy, From the Far Side of the River: Chest-Deep in Little Fish and Big Ideas )… along with a bunch of novels that have earned him well-deserved comparisons to John Irving and Robertson Davies. I was fortunate to work with Paul for a year on the series MISSING, where he was an odd fit and he knew it. His off-beat humor and literary sensibilities just didn't mesh with a typical Lifetime detective series, which was a shame because he was a hell of a nice guy and a pleasure to work with. He will be missed.
I've had a long, on-and-off love affair with Robert B. Parker's books, and although I have criticized his last few novels, I will deeply miss him, and not just as a reader of his work. He had an enormous impact on my career. In fact, I broke into the TV biz with three freelance episodes of SPENSER FOR HIRE.
I was lucky enough to meet him on several occasions. The last time was way back in 2002 at the Edgars, when he was named Grandmaster and I was nominated for a NERO WOLFE episode. We had a very nice conversation about writing for TV and the PI genre.
I understand that there are three or four more Parker novels in the pipeline, including a Jesse Stone, a Spenser, and a western. I'm sure I will read them the week they come out…just as I have with every book he's written since I was a kid.
I just got back from a quick trip to New York for the Mystery Writers of America annual meeting and the orientation for new Board members, which is why there have been no new posts from me here and why I've been tardy posting your comments. My wife and daughter came with me, so we squeezed in some sight-seeing, some shopping, a horse buggy ride through Central Park and a Broadway show in between the MWA stuff, and meetings with my editor and my agent. It looks like there's probably going to be more MONK books in my future, so that's good news. I also got some very good news on one of my spec scripts, but it's too soon for me to share more details on that publicly just yet.
We spotted lots of character actors on the street in NY — mostly bad guys and lawyers from the various versions of LAW & ORDER — and Al Sharpton, who I was surprised to see, since I saw him on CNN on the plane saying he was catching a flight right away to Haiti.
It's great to be back home and I'm eager to start writing again tonight.
Here's an excerpt from my mom Jan Curran's memoir ACTIVE SENIOR LIVING. It's the list of "house rules" for the dining room at her Active Senior Living facility:
1. No sleeping in the dining room.
2. Please use tissues rather than the cloth napkins for blowing your nose.
3. No baseball caps or other head gear in the dining room.
4. Women should not dine with rollers in their hair.
5. No bare feet.
6. No pajamas, nightgowns or robes in the dining room.
7. No wine service with breakfast.
8. Motorized scooters in designated areas only.
9. Wait staff will not be responsible for partials or dentures left on dining tables.
10. Wait staff will not be responsible for hearing aids left on dining tables.
11. Second helpings on dessert only.
Oddly enough, those are the same rules they have at the CBS commissary.
My mom Jan Curran's "fictionalized memoir" ACTIVE SENIOR LIVING is now available for purchase as a trade paperback or in a download version. Here's the cover copy:
Jan Curran, a vivacious socialite and newspaper reporter, reluctantly moves
into an Active Senior Living complex to recuperate from a brutal battle with
cancer. She tackles the surprises and challenges of her new life with warmth,
wit, and courage, meeting a colorful cast of unforgettable characters in an often hilarious yet profoundly moving story of friendship and hope.
It's the perfect book for anyone you know who is dealing with cancer…or is facing the daunting prospect of moving into a retirement home after a life on their own.
The book will soon be available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can find out more at the Active Senior Living blog and at Jan Curran's Facebook Fan page.
Chris Well at The Thrill of It All has given MR. MONK AND THE DIRTY COP some love. He says, in part:
Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop is a real-deal whodunit that will have you turning the pages as Monk puts each clue in its proper place. But at its heart, this isn't just a another book where Monk works through his OCD long enough to solve a murder mystery — it's also a book that challenges some of our preconceptions about the relationships Monk has with Capt. Stottlemeyer and with Natalie. By the end of the journey, we've learned something about these people — and they've learned something about themselves.
Whether you're a fan of the TV show or not, Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop is a gem for any fan of mystery fiction.
Thanks Chris!
Alan Cranis at Bookgasm has flattered me with a rave review for MR. MONK IN TROUBLE. He says, in part:
Once again, Goldberg expertly sails along the fine line of character quirks that make Monk so infuriating, and yet so endearing. His obsessions with order and cleanliness are on full display here. As usual, they are enough to make you want to give up on him completely and leave him to his scrubbing and reorganizing (as the long-suffering Natalie has often done). But, again as usual, Goldberg balances these irritations with enough reassuring humor and sheer crime-solving fun that you find yourself cheering for Monk by the conclusion.
But, wait — there’s more! The author includes several excerpts from Guthrie’s recollections of Artemis Monk and the crimes he solved in the old days of Trouble. These serve as full-fledged short stories within the novel — a sort of “Monk in the Old West” bonus, every bit as entertaining and fun as the present-day story itself.
Thanks, Alan!