Books

Mr. Monk and the Mug Shot

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Gary Mugford gave MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS a great review on his blog Mugshots. He says, in part:

Goldberg takes advantage of being a novelist to bring back Sharona in Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants. And that sets up a battle between assistant Past and assistant Present to see who will be assistant Future. In doing so, he captures Natalie’s insecurities perfectly. Afterall, he’s been inside her head for quite a while now. He also recaps most of those earlier book adventures in some small detail during this book, making it a good jumping on point for the series. Not suprisingly, this is apparently the best-selling of the series of novels to date.

It looks like the book is about to be eclipsed in sales by MR. MONK IS MISERABLE, but TWO ASSISTANTS is definitely a big favorite among the fans.  I’m toying with a notion for bringing Sharona back, perhaps in book #11. But we’ll see….

Thanks for the review, Gary!

On the Red Carpet

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Jerrilyn_lee_pam_2009_72dpiI am heading off pretty soon to the launch party at the Mystery Bookstore for my friend Jerrilyn Farmer's MURDER AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS, which she wrote with Joan Rivers.  Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review which said, in part:

This smooth blend of Rivers's trademark bitchy humor and Farmer's deft plotting also offers a poignant reminder about the cost of fame for too many young Hollywood celebs.

UPDATE – The launch party drew a huge crowd. Jerrilyn regaled everyone with hilarious stories of working with Joan Rivers. Judging by the affectionate stories Jerrilyn told, it's a perfect and fun-filled collaboration. I'm sure that fun comes across on the page, too. (Pictured: yours truly, Mystery Bookstore owner Pam Woods, and Jerrilyn Farmer, photo courtesy of Linda Brown)

I Spy a Great Book

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Open Channel D! Wesley Britton has accomplished a mission impossible — he's written the ultimate reference work on TV Spies on-the-air, in print, and even in music. Get Smart — the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TV SPIES is now available for pre-order from the publisher and you should grab it. 

Britton’s book is a long overdue and desperately needed reference work is not only a detailed and complete listing of every spy show on TV, it also includes appendices on TV spy soundtracks and novelizations that, on their own, are well worth the purchase price.  This richly detailed encyclopedia will satisfy both the curiosity of fans and the scholarly needs of researchers. But it's not fanboy drool nor is it dry and academic. Britton clearly loves his subject and approaches it with enthusiasm that comes through on every page. I strongly recommend it!

25 Writers Who Have Influenced Me

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Author Raymond Benson started this meme on Facebook and it's quickly catching on. My list, of novelists and screenwriters, in no particular order is:

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1. Gregory MacDonald 

2. Ian Fleming 

3. Robert B. Parker 

4. John Irving 

5. Larry McMurtry 

6. Frederick Manfred 

7. Stephen J. Cannell 

8. Roy Huggins 

9. Ross MacDonald 

10. Richard Maibaum 

11. Harry Whittington 

12. John D. MacDonald 

13. Elmore Leonard 

14. Richard S. Prather 

15. Ed McBain 

16. E.F Wallengren 

17. Michael Gleason 

18. Ross H. Spencer 

19. Stephen King 

20. A.B. Guthrie 

21. Blake Edwards 

22. William Goldman 6a00d8341c669c53ef00e54f35dc608833

23. Norman Lear 

24. Neil Simon 

25. Carl Hiaasen

Of course, immediately after compiling the list, I started thinking of people I left out… like Charles Willeford, Donald Hamilton, "Franklin W. Dixon," "Carolyn Keene," the guy who wrote "Encyclopedia Brown," the guy(s) who wrote "The Three Investigators," Steven Bochco, Leslie Charteris, Levinson & Link, Robert Ludlum, James Crumley, Trevanian, and Rod Serling…but I only had 25. (Pictured: Michael Gleason and Robert B. Parker & I).

Mr. Monk and the Audio Book

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I'm delighted to report that that MR. MONK IS MISERABLE is now available as an unabridged audiobook from BBC Audiobooks. You can find it at the iTunes store, Amazon, and from Audible.com. I've heard a few hours of it and Laura Hicks does a great job channeling Natalie and capturing all of the other characters. She wisely doesn't try to imitate the actors from TV series and makes the characters her own. I especially enjoyed her, as Randy Disher, singing "I Don't Need A Badge." I was stunned that she actually did her homework and sang it to the tune from the episode where the song first appeared. That's dedication!

They Do Things Differently Down Under

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Did you know that if an Australian publisher reprints a foreign title within 30 days of it's release anywhere else in the world, there's a copyright law Down Under that requires Australian bookstores to only sell the Australian edition? I didn't either, until I read an article in The Guardian about prominent Oz authors protesting a Government review aimed at perhaps rescinding the law.

This can mean that books are more expensive – and harder to get hold of – in Australia than they are elsewhere, but also allows the country's local publishing to flourish, rather than forcing it to compete with a flood of cheaper-priced editions from overseas.
[…]Booker prize-winning author Peter Carey argued against making any changes. "As long as we have a territorial copyright our publishers have a commercial argument to support Australian literature," he said. "They will battle for the sake of our readers and our writers, even if their owners have no personal commitment to the strange loves and needs of Australian readers, or the cultural integrity and future of the Australian nation."

You Don’t Pay Agents

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Author Alison Kent tipped me to this terrific blog post from Jennifer Jackson, her agent:

Just in case there is someone out there reading this who doesn't already know: Reputable agents work on commission. Commissions are based on selling your work. They make money if you make money. It's a motivational system.

This is something every aspiring author needs to know. Any agent who asks for a reading fee, a submission fee, or any other kind of fee is a fraud.

Mr. Monk is Proofed

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I am currently proof-reading the galleys for the paperback edition of MR. MONK IS MISERABLE. If you have spotted any typos/missing words, etc. in the hardcover edition, please let me know by February 7th so I can prevent the mistakes from being repeated.

Mr. Monk est flatté

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French journalist & critic Thierry Attard raves about MR. MONK IS MISERABLE in a lengthy and detailed review. He says, in part:

Mr. Monk is Miserable, his latest Monk tie-in novel, is a perfect sample of the art of this master storyteller. Should you be a fan of the Monk tv series or not, as the show itself regularly flirts with the self-conscious formulaic Tony Shalhoub one-man show. But the talent of Lee Goldberg is to build totally original novels with familiar figures. His reinventions of Adrian Monk's frustrations and anxieties are so wonderfully and joyfully crafted that many of his readers already wish an adaptation of his new Monk Book for the television series. 

[…]Mr. Monk is Miserable is a wonderful and fun book with an intrigue devised like a clockwork mechanism. Lee Goldberg's vision of Paris and of the French is sharply realistic.

[…]It's a mystery story with a difference, and all the wit (there are shades of Mark Twain in Paris with Monk's exploration of the City of Light), the humor and the writing skills of a master novelist.

Merci Beaucoup, Thierry!

Brutal Irony

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No sooner did Publishers Weekly editor-in-chief Sara Nelson write in her weekly column that she was feeling hopeful that the wave of industry firings was over than she got laid off herself. Reed Publications, parent company of PW, announced that all three of their publishing industry trade magazines will now be run by one editor, Brian Kenney. Meanwhile, Reed also announced that thirty staffers were pink slipped today at Variety, their entertainment industry trade publication.