#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
Chris Well has given MR. MONK GOES TO THE FIREHOUSE a warm review. Here’s an excerpt:
Novelist (and TV writer) Lee Goldberg does a remarkable job of
capturing the wit and spark of the series, while exploring the
possibilities that come with a different medium. The story is told from
the point of view of Natalie, adding more layers to the narrative than
possible in a regular episode.
Thanks, Chris!
During a Q&A at Lincoln Center, Jane reports that author T.C. Boyle took on book critic NY Times book critic Michiko Kakutani for not liking his new novel TALK, TALK.
On Talk, Talk‘s ending and Michiko Kakutani’s recent attack on it in the New York Times:
"The ending is beautiful, no matter what you might have heard from one
bitter, acerbic individual who’s miserable with her bleak reviewer’s
life. She wanted a more shoot-’em-up ending. But I think you’ll find
the book’s ending is a lot subtler, and a lot more beautiful, than
that. Here, I’ll read it for you so you can judge for yourself. I’ll
read the last sentence backwards because I don’t want to spoil it: "Her
behind in crowding universe the in sky blue the all with, ascendant,
him to next right, there her put he and too smile a her gave he." Now
you tell me, isn’t that beautiful?
(To be fair to Boyle, the Jane poster acknowledges that the quote is not verbatim, he relied on notes, not a recording).
I received this comment to another post here two years ago and should have pulled it out for a stand-alone post then. Better late than never:
Tami, Monk fan extraordinaire, sent me this photo from a Barnes & Noble in Las Vegas. It seems to me that MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII is getting much bigger play at most B&N stores — twenty or more copies prominently displayed — than the first MONK book did. I hope they sell!
The ITW has put together a four-minute video, shot and edited by David Hewson at the convention, and posted it on YouTube. The video features short interviews Lee Child,
Zoe Sharpe, David Morrell, Steve Berry, Gayle Lynds and Heather Graham
among other. Don’t blink or you’ll miss the shot of me signing books with Erica Spindler at the start of the video.
My latest Natalie Blog is now up on the USA Network site.
The other night, just for the heck of it, I invited Monk out to dinner with Julie
and me. That meant, of course, that we had to stop by his apartment on
the way to pick-up a set of dishes and silverware that he could bring
with him to the restaurant in a special, padded picnic basket.
I’m a big Robert B. Parker fan. That said, BLUE SCREEN is probably one of his worst books. For one thing, it’s a Sunny Randall novel, his weakest series and a bland imitation of Spenser. And like most Sunny Randall novels, it’s a meandering, uninvolving story that feels as if he was making it up as he went along (at least he only used the phrase "we’d be fools not to" once in this book and not as the end of a chapter for a change). Parker has his PI working for a self-involved celebrity (something he’s done several times with Spenser and once before with Sunny), which only adds to the "been there/done that" feeling that pervades this listless book.
But what ultimately makes BLUE SCREEN more than just a disappointing book in a so-so series is that Jesse Stone, the hero of his third ongoing series, is teamed up with Sunny in this story and neutered in the process. Which is a tragedy, because the Jesse Stone books have been (with the exception of SEA CHANGE) Parker at his very best, harkening back to his early Spenser novels. They’ve also provided the basis for a trio of terrific Tom Selleck TV movies.
The Jesse Stone character in BLUE SCREEN is cringe-inducing. Then again, just about everything in this book is cringe-inducing, from the cutesy banter to the endless attention given to Sunny’s dog (I won’t even go into the cameo appearance by Susan Silverman). Unfortunately for us Jesse Stone fans, the book seems aimed at merging the two series into one, something I hope Parker will reconsider. We’d be fools not to.
The folks over at The Monk Fun Page, the ultimate Monk fan site, have given my book MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII a rave review.
Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii is filled with inspired goofiness, rich characterizations, an intricate mystery and a lot of fun. You probably won’t want to put it down until it’s over and that’s way too soon.
[…] This one is also told from the perspective of Monk’s assistant Natalie
Teeger. In fact the author has settled so comfortably into her voice you almost
expect to see her name on the cover. This is the kinder, gentler Natalie she’s
grown to be on the show. This is the Natalie I’d like to spend more time with:
funny, strong, loving and vulnerable.
I was thrilled by the review, because I know how discriminating the folks at the Monk Fun Page are when it comes to anything "Monk." So far, they only spotted one error…but what’s frustrating about it is that it’s a mistake that I know I corrected and yet it still, somehow, got through anyway. Oh well.
If you’re a Monk fan, you really have to check out the Monk Fun Page...and I’m not just saying that because they’ve been so kind to me and my books. It’s filled with information, interviews, and background on all things Monk.
You can read an excerpt from my new book MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII on the USA Network site. There’s also a new a new installment in my Natalie blog up now, too.
There’s a detailed interview with my friends Terry Erdmann & Paula Block, authors of the terrific new book MONK: THE OFFICIAL EPISODE GUIDE, over at the Monk Fun Page. The book is every bit as breezy and enjoyable as the show and is full of amusing and revealing anecdotes about the development and production of MONK. You can also watch a video interview with Terry and read Monk creator Andy Breckman’s Forward from the book over at the USA Network Monk site.
No, it would simply show that the writer is using cliches. Just
because real people speak in cliches, that’s not an excuse to use them
in your writing. Nobody is going to read a cliche and think "ah, the
writer is capturing the way people really talk." They’ll think "geez,
what a lousy writer. He doesn’t have the talent to write interesting
dialogue."
The commentor also said:
When it comes to cliches, nobody is going to criticise you for NOT using them.