Other Random Posts

Our first review for TIED IN has already come in… from the Television Obscurities blog(one of my favorites, btw)… and it's a rave.  They said, in part:

TIED IN doesn’t focus solely on television tie-ins. It also covers movie novelizations, comic book tie-ins and computer game tie ins. But that actually makes it even more valuable and more interesting.
[…]my favorite essays were those that did focus on television tie-ins, especially David Spencer’s wonderful “American TV Tie-Ins from the 50s through the early 70s,” which delves into the history of television tie-in novels and examines several of the writers from those decades, including William Johnston, Keith Laumer and Michael Avallone.

TIED IN is a fascinating exploration of the media tie-in business.

 I've had a lot of unusual interview requests…but this was the first that came with the offer to name a chick after me.  So I answered a few questions for Project Chicken  Before the Eggs. Here's a sampling: 

What is the best advice an older relative or family member gave you?

My grandfather gave me two pieces of advice I have followed all of my life.
1). “It never hurts to be over-prepared, it always hurts to be under-prepared.” That’s why I always have a jacket with me, even if it’s 110 degrees in the shade, a habit which my daughter finds embarrassing.

2). “Never buy a car on time. That way, no bank can ever take it away from you and, if worse comes to worse, you can always live in it.” My accountant absolutely hates me for following that one.

I'm in good company in the chicken coop. They also have interviews with Judy Blume and Chris Bohjalian, among others.

 You can't find the three seasons of "Spenser: For Hire" or the two seasons of "Harry O" on DVD…but you can find "The Oregon Trail," "Big John, Little John," "Threshold," "The Bionic Woman (2008)" and  "Conviction," all flops that lasted 13 episodes or less.  Do not get the TV-On-DVD business at all. Was anyone clamoring for "The Oregon Trail?"