#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
Scottish crime novelist Quintin Jardine says he owes his career to a bad
TV novelization that he read…
I didn’t like anything about the book: the characters didn’t work on the page
as they had on screen; the plot seemed ropey; and the ending, when I got there,
struck me as contrived.When I was done, I chucked it across the terrace, remarking aloud, "I could
do better myself." To this my wife replied, "Time you did, then." Coming from
her, that was an instruction.
I just this minute finished the first draft of MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII. It’s about 70,000 words. I’m printing out the manuscript now so that tomorrow I can begin my pencil-edit and rewriting. Coincidentally, today the galley proofs of MR. MONK GOES TO THE FIREHOUSE arrived on my doorstep for me to review. It seems fitting, somehow, that the timing worked out that way.
Approaching the level of Lawrence Block is no mean feat,
but Goldberg (the Diagnosis Murder series) succeeds with this engaging PI novel,
the first of a new series. Harvey Mapes, an overeducated security guard for a
Southern California gated community, is pulled out of his rut when a wealthy
resident hires him to tail his wife. Genre readers won’t be surprised that this
simple assignment turns more complicated, but those who like their mean streets
settings to be coupled with a twisty solution will enjoy the surprise ending.
While Mapes’s rampant sexual appetite may not be for everyone’s taste, readers
who devoured Block’s brilliant Chip Harrison mystery picaresques (which doubled
as affectionate pastiches of Nero Wolfe) will find Mapes a worthy (if slightly
more mature) successor to Harrison and clamor for more. Agent, Gina Maccoby.
(Oct.)
Dropping in at one of the big chain bookstores to sign stock is often a humbling and humiliating experience, even for bestselling authors like Tess Gerritsen.
"Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re already a NYT bestselling
writer, any delusions of grandeur you may harbor will quickly be
squashed by a few sobering bookstore visits…"
Her wonderful blog post today about her experiences signing stock in Honolulu is funny, horrifying and all-too-familiar.
Variety reports that The Weinstein Company has optioned author Jeff Abbott’s thriller PANIC, which just hit the shelves today.
Book, published by Dutton, follows young docu
filmmaker Evan Casher as he goes on the run from a dangerous spy ring after the
murder of his mother. He learns that most aspects of his life have been total
fabrications.Abbott has written eight mystery and suspense novels, most recently 2003’s
"Cut and Run," the third volume in his Whit Mosley series.
Taking a page from Joe Konrath, I’ve been doing a lot of drop-in signings of stock. I have no idea if it makes any difference at all…but it’s a good excuse to visit bookstores. Here’s my tally for this week. Twelve stores visited, 71 books signed. Here’s a list of the stores visited so far:
B&N Santa Monica, CA
B&N West LA, CA
Brentanos Century City
Waldenbooks West LA
Borders Express Thousand Oaks, CA
B&N Calabasas, CA
Mysteries to Die For, Thousand Oaks, CA
B & N Thousand Oaks, CA
Borders, Thousand
Oaks CA
B& N Encino, CA
Borders Express Sherman Oaks, CA
B&N Ventura CA
Waldenbooks Ventura, CA
B&N at The Grove
Brentanos Beverly Center
B&N Burbank, CA
B&N Glendale, CA
B&N Pasadena, CA
Vroman’s Pasadena,CA
Borders Express Burbank, CA
B&N Redlands, CA
B&N Rancho
Cucamonga, CA
B&N Montclair, CA
B&N Riverside, CA
B. Dalton San Bernardino CA
B&N Palm Desert, CA
You may have noticed few, if any, Borders stores in the list. Although they carry my books, they tend to stock so few copies of my titles (usually one of each) that it’s hardly worth the trip. On the other hand, their subsidiary Waldenbooks/Borders Express usually have 6-8 copies of the newest title and multiple copies of the older ones, so I make a point of seeking out those stores.
I just received the sad news that author Dennis Lynds, aka Michael Collins, has passed away. His wife Gayle Lynds was at his side. He was a wonderful man and I will miss him. My heartfelt sympathies go out to Gayle and her family.
UPDATE: The Associated Press ran a story about Dennis this morning that goes into more detail about the tragic circumstances of his passing. I’ve heard from others close to the family that Gayle and Dennis had rushed to San Francisco to see
their daughter, who was seriously injured in a car accident. This is just terrible news.
The French have developed a new twist on bookselling: Book Vending Machines. They are installed in busy metro stations and on some street corners.
"We have customers who know exactly what they want and come at all hours to get it," said Xavier Chambon, president of Maxi-Livres, a low-cost publisher and book store chain that debuted the vending machines in June. "It’s as if our stores were open 24 hours a day."
Stocked with 25 of Maxi-Livres best-selling titles, the machines cover the gamut of literary genres and tastes. Classics like "The Odyssey" by Homer and Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland" share the limited shelf space with such practical must-haves as "100 Delicious Couscous" and "Verb Conjugations."
"Our biggest vending machine sellers are ‘The Wok Cookbook’ and a French-English dictionary," said Chambon, who added that poet Charles Baudelaire’s "Les Fleurs du Mal" — "The Flowers of Evil" — also is "very popular."
Regardless of whether they fall into the category of high culture or low, all books cost a modest $2.45.
(Thanks to Bill Rabkin for the tip)
Mystery lover Vince Keenan, columnist for the excellent Mystery File newsletter, had some very nice to things to say about THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE on his blog today.
Harvey Mapes drifted into security work because he thought it
would be like MANNIX or one of his Gold Medal paperbacks. He stays in it because
it gives him time to read more Gold Medal paperbacks. When a resident of the
gated community where he works hires him to tail his wife, Harvey finally gets
his chance to make like Spenser.The book is about Harvey’s discovery
that real-life crime isn’t like the fictional variety at all. At first, the
differences are played for laughs, but when Harvey’s case takes a tragic turn,
Lee never loses his footing. Harvey actually matures on the page, a
transformation made evident in the character’s distinctive voice. He stops
wising off and starts wising up.
Thanks, Vince. And where’s the next issue of Mystery File? I’m going through withdrawal.
David J. Montgomery, a familiar name to those of you who frequent this obscure corner of the blogosphere, had this to say today about DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE PAST TENSE in his mystery column in today’s Chicago Sun-Times:
Books spun off from television series are often scorned by critics despite their popularity. One author out to change their reputation is Lee Goldberg, a screenwriter who has produced at least a dozen novels as well as scores of TV shows.
With his fifth book in the "Diagnosis Murder" series, The Past Tense (Signet, $6.99), Goldberg has proven that excellent writing can be found anywhere, even in a TV tie-in novel.When the body of a woman dressed as a mermaid washes up on the beach, everyone is perplexed except for Dr. Mark Sloan (the character played on television by Dick Van Dyke). Sloan recognizes the clues that tie the body to a
series of murders nearly four decades before, a case that haunts him still.The Past Tense contains all the elements of a fine mystery novel: good characters, interesting plot, surprising twists and, above all, crisp and enjoyable writing. With books this good, who needs TV?
He also has some really nice things to say in his column about my friends Zoe Sharp (who I will be signing with in L.A. next month) and Terrill Lee Lankford. Thank you, David!