My Blog

Today is Pub Day

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1594143722_1Prepare yourself for same blatant self-promotion…but I think I’m allowed.

Today is the official publication date of THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE, which should start appearing in finer mystery bookstores nationwide, like Mystery Book Store, Mysteries to Die For, and Murder By The Book. You can also order if from Amazon. Here are some excerpts from the pre-publication reviews:

"As dark and twisted as anything as anything Hammett or Chandler ever dreamed
up…leaving Travis McGee in the dust" Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

"Approaching the level of Lawrence Block is no mean feat, but Goldberg (the
Diagnosis Murder series) succeeds with this engaging PI novel…" Publishers Weekly

"A
convincing, even moving tale about the real nature of the SoCal streets and
the real nature of heroism," Ed Gorman

"Likeable loser Harvey Mapes is my new favorite private eye, the guy with the dead-end job who longs to be Mannix or Travis McGee.  I hope the folks in charge of the Shamus nominations are paying attention." Victor Gischler

"Violent, often crude, sometimes hilarious and ultimately touching, this book is
a great homage to the Gold Medal paperbacks of the 1950s and 1960s." Clair Lamb, Mystery Bookstore newsletter

A witty, wicked and dare I say wise little book. Lee Goldberg shows off more than just his funny bone here. He reveals a keen eye for the wrenching heartbreaks and triumphs that forge heroes" David Corbett

"Lee Goldberg’s ‘The Man in the Iron-On Badge’ is a very funny book about the ironclad LA class system, life in a security guard’s shack, and the crucial differences between violence as
experienced on a TV show and in real life. " Scott
Phillips

"A quick fun read with a satisfying and unexpected ending. Harvey Mapes is a hero I  hope we see in a sequel." Phillip
Margolin

"A clever, witty and intelligent parody of, and homage to, the PI genre." Robert
Randisi

"Lee Goldberg is a sly and funny writer, with a warm heart and an ease with words. 
He never disappoints." SJ Rozan

"This book starts out as a fine example of the humorous “lovable schmoe”
school of detective fiction, and Goldberg does a good job with that part of it, but then it takes a sudden turn into darker and more dangerous territory and becomes even better…"James Reasoner

"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." Vince Keenan

"Goldberg is funny in this rip on pop culture, PI cliches, and
California culture…a laugh-out-loud example of what the best PI
novels should be."  James Winter, Reflections in a Private Eye

A History Of Violence

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I’ve never been a big David Cronenberg fan, but I liked A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, though it could have been so much better. It’s a shame the mobsters were played, costumed and directed,  so cartoonishly over-the-top…had they been as realistic and controlled as the rest of the characters (and performances), this movie really could have soared.

There was a reason FIREFLY was cancelled after eight episodes…

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I saw SERENITY last night.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I thought it was a loud, boring, uninspired mess…that played like what it was: a hyped up episode of a not-very-interesting TV series. Even so, the movie wasn’t nearly as well-written, well-acted, or exciting as a typical episode of the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (proving, once again, that what’s on TV these days is better that what’s in the theaters). It had a real TV pilot feel… despite an entire universe to play with, the action was mostly limited to four soundstage sets that looked like soundstage sets.

The cast, with the exception of the captain (Nathan Fillian) and the bad guy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), have no discernible range and no chemistry with one another.  The characters themselves are one-dimensional cut-outs that only a true fan of the short-lived series could care about.

The special effects had a cheesy, computer-game feel…as did the story  (the bad guys, the flesh-eating RESIDENT EVIL-esque zombies, are just so much target practice…and blandly reminiscent of the cannibal aliens on STARGATE ATLANTIS).

The action set pieces and the plot seemed cobbled together from STAR TREK episodes, old westerns, and Hong Kong movies and I got tired of the constant  "take-a-cliche-line-from-another-movie- and-add-a-petulant-whine-to-it" style of dialogue ("Do you want to be Captain of this ship?" "Yeah, I do." "Well, uh, you can’t.")… when they weren’t using phrases from old westerns or speaking Chinese. 

I really wanted to like this movie but came away disappointed.

Can HELLO LARRY Be Far Behind?

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Lotsaluck_completeseriesAfter years of letter-writing, praying and dreaming… the long wait is finally over. All 22 episodes of the 1973 flop sitcom LOTSA LUCK, starring Dom DeLuise, are coming out on DVD.

And if you’re one of the tens of thousands of people who’ve been pining for the DVD release of the 1967 flop sitcom GOOD MORNING WORLD, the complete series of 26 episodes starring Ronnie Schell is  also headed to a Best Buy near you. While you’re there, don’t forget to pick up the complete series sets of THE JOEY BISHOP SHOW,  FAR OUT SPACE NUTS, THAT’S MY MAMA, NED AND STACY, TABITHA and PINK LADY AND JEFF.

The End of Sex

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Deniserichards1That got your attention, didn’t it? UPN has shut down production on the Denise Richards series  SEX LOVE AND SECRETS after only one airing and with just eight of the show’s 13 episodes shot. Daily Variety reports that the network will air the seven remaining episodes  and then re-evaluate the show’s future (yeah, right). Barring a miraculous, sudden surge in ratings, the show is dead.  NBC’s fertility clinic drama  INCONCEIVABLE and FOX’s police procedural KILLER INSTINCT may be the next shows smothered in their sleep.

With ""Inconceivable"
going nowhere at 10 (prelim 1.5/5 in 18-49, 4.6 million), and Fox, with "Killer
Instinct" a distant fourth at 9 (prelim 1.5/5, 4.6 million), were well behind
CBS with a 1.6 average in 18-49. Both almost certainly will make sked
changes before November sweeps.

Meanwhile, Bob Saget is returning to television…no, not in yet another season of AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS, but as the star, producer and co-writer of EDDIE’S FATHER,  which Variety described as an "R-rated version of ‘The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.’"

Saget will play a divorced dad who works as a gynecologist in Phoenix. Show will
focus on the character as he balances raising a 14-year-old son while trying to
lead as active a social life as possible.

"The show is my son and I going through adolescence at the same time," Saget
explained. "What makes it exciting is that because I’m working with HBO, I’ll
get to use the same language in the show that I use with my own kids, which is
just very honest and real."

An iUniverse Book That Might Actually Do Some Decent Numbers

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WITHOUT GRACE by Carol Hoenig is an iUniverse title that is likely to sell better than most of the company’s self-published novels. It’s not because of Pod-dy Mouth’s rave review, or the blurbs from Malachy McCourt and Michael Malone, or even this casual mention. So why might it sell to more folks than just Hoenig’s friends and relatives? Because Hoenig  has an edge most POD authors don’t have: she’s National Events Specialist for Borders Group…and already has signings set at five Borders stores with, undoubtedly, more to come.

Marvin H. Albert

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You may recall that I’ve got a guilty-pleasure-passion for the Frank Sinatra’s TONY ROME and LADY IN CEMENT movies, both of which were based on books by Marvin H. Albert (who also co-wrote the screenplay for LADY). Novelist, editor and paperback collector Bill Crider  has written an interesting article about Albert for this month’s issue of Mystery*File magazine. The article includes a complete bibliography of Albert’s work, compiled by Steve Lewis. Albert was an amazingly versatile, if unappreciated, writer whose work included screenplays, novels in several genres, and even movie tie-ins. He was one of a dying breed. 

Judging Books By Their Covers

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I have to apologize to Kit Tunstall for making fun of her name…it was a cheap shot (I gambled that there was a 50/50 chance that  it wasn’t a pen-name and I lost). Her comment about all the money in e-book erotica made me curious about her…so I checked out her site. There may be, as she claims, a oodles of cash in the smutty e-book biz, but obviously none of the profits are going towards cover art. It turns out that the cover of her e-book PHANTASIE, so brilliantly lampooned by the Smart Bitches Who Love Trash Novels, is not half-as-bad as some of her others…
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