Other Random Posts

Roger Moore narrates a fun and fascinating BBC radio documentary on Leslie Charteris, author of the Saint. Among those interviewed is my Uncle Burl Barer, the Edgar-award winning author of a book on Charteris and the Saint (who must have crapped himself when he heard Moore, his childhood idol, introducing him).

(Thanks to William Simon for the heads-up!)

James Reasoner may be the most prolific writer I know…but until now, most of his books have been written under pseudonyms.  DUST DEVILS, one of the rare books under his own name, has won a starred review  from Publisher’s Weekly.

With a simple but effective plot and understated prose, this outstanding “redneck noir” successfully gives the windswept Texas plains the feel of mean city streets. Young, callow Toby McCoy appears at an isolated farmhouse, apparently just seeking work. Soon he’s plowing the fields, feeding the hogs and making eyes at Grace Halligan, the lovely older woman who owns the place. Just as the two move beyond a professional relationship, strange gunmen appear at the farm, forcing the lovers to reveal the extent of their mutual deceptions as they hit the road—with two dogs in the back of their pickup truck—in search of a double-crossing bank robber and the money he owes Grace. In the spirit of the genre, Reasoner (Texas Wind) saves the final chilling revelations for the very end, captivating the reader with other twists and turns along the way.

There’s a lot of talk about ghosting going on this weekend. Our friend Sarah Weinman inaugurates her new, web-only column for the Los Angeles times with reviews of several books written by ghosts under their own names. And the ever-present David Montgomery is quoted in an Arizona Republic article on ghosting:

The franchising of Tom Clancy books goes back more than a decade, and ghostwriting is probably as old as Homer. But when even the names of the “collaborators” are accruing value, we appear to have entered a new era in the branding of best-selling authors.

The poster boy for this 21st-century phenomenon is James Patterson, who had eight of the 100 most popular books of 2006, according to USA Today, and is scheduled to release six novels this year – that’s one every two months. The majority of his books are written by “co-authors” who take a detailed outline and flesh it out, then turn it back to Patterson for edits.

[…]Judging from the best-seller lists, however, most readers don’t mind – if they even pay attention. Bibliophiles who devour three novels a week probably have a sense of how the publishing industry works, but casual consumers who pick up the occasional best-seller for 40 percent off at Sam’s Club may not understand that a “collaboration” isn’t 50-50.

“I don’t think any of this matters much to readers. They just want a new James Patterson book,” said Montgomery of crimefictionblog.com. “Whether or not this is completely honest on the part of the publishers is another thing.”

The amount of comment spam I am getting lately from porn sites is huge… so, until it abates, I am unfortunately going to have to continue moderating the comments here…especially since I will be traveling so much in the coming weeks.

Howdy from the British Airways first class lounge in Heathrow. This lounge feels like a low-end Las Vegas buffet…and is more crowded than the terminal. It also smells like split pea soup. Luxurious, huh? I am grabbing a newspaper, a scone, and heading for my flight.  The next time you hear from me, I will be back in L.A., working on my tan and my jet-lag.

Paul Levine keeps sending me good stuff. He clued me in to a Wall Street Journal article about the French version of LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.

"Paris Enquêtes Criminelles," as the French version will be called, highlights a major shake-up brewing in the TV industry’s $8 billion export business. Foreign broadcasters, once happy to buy dubbed versions of old U.S. comedies and dramas, are discovering that their viewers — particularly the younger ones advertisers pay a premium to reach — would rather watch original shows. As a result, demand is softening for dubbed shows in some markets and soaring for new scripts to film. That’s prompting U.S. studios to offer localized versions of their tried and true hits to foreign customers, touting them as an option that’s faster than starting entirely from scratch.

[…]translating it into French hasn’t been easy. [Dick Wolf] has insisted on elaborate control, right down to the sound of the signature "ca-ching" heard on each episode. Delays have caused the project to be nearly two years in the making, as producers on both sides of the Atlantic endured casting disputes, cultural tensions and the occasional debate over gun-toting techniques.

If you follow the link, you can even get a peek at the show’s main title sequence.

Not long ago at a signing, a reader asked me:

"How much of your books do you write?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I was wondering who writes the dialogue," she said.

"I do," I said.

"Really?" she said. "And who writes the rest?"

"I do," I said.

"Oh really," She looked at me skeptically. "Then why is Dick Van Dyke’s picture on the cover?"

I’m bringing this up because I had an eerily similar conversation when I spoke at a luncheon this week. A woman asked me:

"Who writes the dialogue in your scripts?"

"I do," I said.

"And who writes what happens?" she asked.

"I do," I said.

"So you’re telling me you write the dialogue, the mystery, the action, and everything else," she said.

"Yes, ma’am," I said.

"I thought the actors made up what they say."

"That’s certainly what the actors think," I said.