My Blog

BADGE a Bestseller

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Someone just sent me this list of December bestsellers from the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association:

Hardcovers
1. CONSENT TO KILL by Vince Flynn
2. SPECTRES IN THE SMOKE by Tony Broadbent
3. THE LINCOLN LAWYER by Michael Connelly
4. GRAVE SIGHT by Charlaine Harris
5. THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE by Lee Goldberg
6. SHROUD OF THE THWACKER by Chris Elliott
7. DELETE ALL SUSPECTS by Donna Andrews
8. FALL OF THE PHILANDERER by Carola Dunn
9. DERMAPHORIA by Craig Clevenger
10. THE FIREMAKER by Peter May

FYI, the number one paperback on the list is SOLOMAN AND LORD by my buddy Paul Levine, so he’s buying when we have lunch next week.

UPDATE 12-22-05: I have reason to doubt whether this list is accurate. The email I received reproduced an Independant Mystery Bookseller Association bestseller list that was reprinted in the December newsletter of the Aliens and Alibis Bookstore. However, the December IMBA bestseller list doesn’t actually come out until January…so where did this list come from?

I’ve contacted Aliens and Alibis, and they aren’t sure where they got the list that they published. I’ve enlisted some friends of mine at various mystery book stores to help me figure out whether this is an early IMBA list, another individual bookstore’s bestseller list, or whether it’s a Christmas shopping list someone dropped on the sidewalk somewhere. I’ll let you know what I discover.

More Moore

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Variety reports that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA showrunner Ron Moore has signed a rich deal with NBC/Universal.

Deal calls for Moore, who exec produced the first season of HBO’s "Carnivale"
before joining "Battlestar," to create and develop series, with an emphasis on
sci-fi-themed projects.

He’s already set up the NBC fantasy skein
"Pen and the Sword" and "Warehouse 13," a quirky one-hour for Sci Fi Channel.
Moore also will continue to steer "Battlestar," which kicks off the second half
of season two Jan. 6.

"Pen and the Sword" revolves around a young man at a temp agency who comes to
realize the building he works in is a portal to a sort of medieval alternate
reality. Show will follow the man as he slides between worlds, trying to unravel
the connection between the two — i.e., verbal spats between colleagues in one
dimension are sword fights in the other.

"It’s definitely something different for a broadcast network," Moore said.
"At its heart, ‘Pen and the Sword’ is really the story of this guy and his late
father, who was somehow involved in the office."

For Sci Fi, Moore will oversee "Warehouse 13" from writer Brent Mote. Project
concerns a pair of government officials banished to a storage facility in North
Dakota where they spend their days cataloguing artifacts and other odds and ends
collected by the government over the years. Unbeknownst to them, every item has
a backstory, pulling them into fantastic and supernatural quests each week.

"It’s ‘Northern Exposure’-esque and more comedic than anything else I’ve seen
on Sci Fi," Moore said. "What interested me was that it was a fun concept
anchored by real characters."

 

Trevanian Dies

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Bill Crider pointed me to the sad news that the novelist known as Trevanian (aka Rodney Whitaker) has died.

The author used at least five different writing names but was best known as
Trevanian, The New York Times said. He died Wednesday of chronic heart disease,
his agent told Saturday`s newspaper.

In addition to the ‘Eiger Sanction,’ Trevanian`s international best sellers
included 1979`s ‘Shibumi’ and ‘The Loo Sanction’ in 1973. His 10 known published
books sold more than 5 million copies and were translated into at least 14
languages.

I remember when I was a kid reading SHIBUMI and thinking the sex scenes were really hot, particularly the one where the hero made love to a woman by stroking her with razor blades (which included an author’s note not to try this technique at home unless you were well trained in the erotic arts. Sadly, I dropped out without getting my diploma).

New Years Resolutions for Writers

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Novelist Joe Konrath posts his Professi0nal Writer Resolutions for the new year. They work for me, too.

  • I will keep my website updated
  • I will start a blog
  • I will schedule bookstore signings, and while at the bookstore I’ll meet and
    greet the customers rather than sit dejected in the corner
  • I will send out a newsletter, emphasizing what I have to offer rather than
    what I have for sale, and I won’t send out more than four a year
  • I will learn to speak in public, even if I think I already know how
  • I will make selling my books my responsibility, not my publisher’s
  • I will stay in touch with my fans
  • I will contact local libraries, and tell them I’m available for speaking
    engagements
  • I will attend as many writing conferences as I can afford
  • I will spend a large portion of my advance on self-promotion
  • I will help out other writers
  • I will not get jealous, will never compare myself to my peers, and will
    cleanse my soul of envy
  • I will be accessible, amiable, and enthusiastic
  • I will do one thing every day to self-promote
  • I will always remember where I came from

Of course, not all of these resolutions really apply to Joe. He keeps his site and blog update, can speak well in public, and attends every writing conference held from here to Tehran. He forgot the big resolution though…

Write.

The Best of the Goldbergs

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My brother Tod continues his "best of…" theme today, picking his favorite posts from some of our family’s many blogs. But he doesn’t really answer the big questions…why do so many members of our family feel the need to share their opinions with the world? What makes us think anybody really cares? Are we doing it merely to advertise a product or service (our books, art work, businesses, etc)? Or is it raging ego? Or is it a very public way of keeping in touch with one another?

Or is it a logical outgrowth of who we are? The fact is, I come from a media-oriented family. My father was an TV news anchorman. My Mom is a journalist and author. My Uncle was a popular FM disc jockey for many years and now writes true-crime books. My brother is a novelist and an English professor (yeah, he’s a prof now). My sisters are artists and published authors. I’ve been a journalist, author and TV writer/producer.  Is it really any surprise that we all have blogs?

Sleuth Fest

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TVSquad reports that Sleuth, the new cable net devoted to mysteries from the Universal television vault, will premiere on New Years Day with a marathon of pilot episodes from a slew of vintage crime shows.

Dan Harrison, Senior Vice President, Emerging Networks who oversees Sleuth, also
said: "We can’t wait to launch Sleuth on New Year’s Day. It’s a great day to
start a network that offers some of the most enduring and popular television
genres of all time. We’re starting with the pilots of some classic crime dramas
from NBC Universal’s enormous library. We will give some classic programs new
life as loyal fans mix with a new generation who can enjoy them all day and
continuing throughout Sleuth’s first week."

There’s more details on the jump.

Read more

Hawaiian Eye

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Writer Ken Levine is off to Hawaii today — and as his going away present to his blog readers, he left a very funny post about his last trip to the islands. Here’s a taste:

Their signature restaurant is Humahumanukunukuapua’s (actual name). But people
call is Humahumanhukunu’s for short. Lobster was $59 a pound (again, this is
true). They should change the name to Hubrishubrishubrishubrischutzpah…

…They sell jewelry down at the pool. Women with their guts hanging over their
bikini bottoms trying on pearls. I have no idea whether they like the stuff or
not. Because of the Botox they can’t make an expression.

Went twice to
Roy’s restaurant. Best food on the island and never disappoints. And the view?
Spectacular. Roy’s is in the parking lot of a shopping center. You know you’re
in Hawaii when you see the crimson sun set behind the Safeway and the Crazy
Shirt Emporium.

Have a terrific trip, Ken!

Spec-tacular

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Comedy writer Ken Levine gives some wonderful advice on his must-read blog about writing that perfect sitcom spec:

Don’t view the show from the perspective of a fly. I once read a WINGS spec as
seen by a buzzing fly. I offer this as the first example because I know so many
young writers fall into this same trap.

Don’t put yourself into the show
and make yourself the lead character. I once read a CHEERS where Alan had more
lines than Sam & Diane combined. Alan? Who’s Alan? Alan was one of the
extras. And so he remained.

And just because people tell you you look
like Debra Messing doesn’t mean you should write a WILL & GRACE entitled
“Grace’s Sister”. If I get a script with a photo attached I know I’m in trouble.

Don’t hand write your script, no matter how good your penmanship. Send
your spec in a UCLA blue book and you’ll get an F.

Don’t invent a
format.

Know the characters. I read a spec MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW where
Mary wondered what to get her husband for his birthday. Her “husband”???!

Some other things to avoid, at least in drama specs:  the hero’s evil double, the reappearance of long-lost relatives, or the hero getting amensia, going blind, or getting critically injured. It’s also not a good idea to write a spin-off pilot for one of the secondary characters.