My Blog

Two Great Reads

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While I was in El Paso, I read two books… Richard Vaughan’s  HAWKE and Dominic Stansberry’s THE CONFESSION. I like them both…they were throwbacks, in a good way, to books of another era.

HAWKE is a formula western with a decidedly unformulatic hero… a world-class concert pianist and a veteran Confederate soldier who now roams aimlessly, a haunted lost soul, scraping together money here and there playing piano in saloons.  He’s quick with a gun and often finds himself in middle of trouble.  It was the perfect airplane read… I didn’t even notice the terrible turbulence that kept the waitresses buckled into their seats and the passengers parched from lack of beverage service. Vaughan has won the Spur Award before… I can see him snagging another one for this fine example of the modern western.

THE CONFESSION is a dark, tawdry, noir tale that harkens back… intentionally so… to the great Gold Medal paperbacks of the 50s and 60s. Stansberry perfectly captures the forboding, the sensuality, the violence, and the wickedness of the best of those tales… and yet, it feels contemporary and hip at the same time. The story is told from the first-person point-of-view of Jake Danser, a forensic psychologist who might be a sexual predator and a serial killer… or not. Even he’s not entirely sure. Stansberry’s prose is confident and slick, his eye for detail sharp and surprising. The book has been nominated for an Edgar and I can see why. It’s a damn good book. I’m eager now to read Stansberry’s new one, CHASING THE DRAGON.

Diagnosis Murder: The Past Tense

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Dm5I just got my first peek at the cover of my fifth "Diagnosis Murder" novel. It’s called THE PAST TENSE and may be my favorite book in the series.  It comes out in August. Here’s what some nice folks are saying about the book…

"What a great book! I enjoyed it tremendously. It’s a clever, twisting
tale that leaves you guessing right up to the heart-stopping ending."
Lisa Gardner, bestselling author of Alone.

"Just what the doctor ordered, a sure cure after a rash  of blah mysteries.  Diagnosis Murder: The Past Tense has more plot twists than a strand of DNA." Elaine Viets, author of
Dying to Call You

"With a devilish plot sense, sophisticated humor, and smooth writing style, Lee Goldberg’s DIAGNOSIS MURDER series never fails to please. He’s as good as anyone writing in the genre today." Donald Bain, co-author of the Murder She Wrote novels

"Diagnosis Murder: The Past Tense.  Seldom has a title been more appropriate. Lee Goldberg takes the utterly familiar Dr. Mark Sloan and surprises us with heartbreaking glimpses of the past that allow the  good doctor to step off the television screen and into a flesh-and-blood  reality. Well-plotted and beautifully rendered." — Margaret Maron, Edgar,
Agatha, and Macavity Award-winning author of the Deborah Knott mysteries.

"Lee Goldberg takes you on a streamlined ride
through 40 years of LA history with a busload of suspicious characters. The
Past Tense will quicken the pulses of longtime Diagnosis Murder fans and newcomers alike while Dr.
Mark Sloan’s quest for justice is sure to
warm hearts."
– Denise Hamilton, author of the Eve Diamond crime novels,
including Last Lullaby, an L.A. Times "Best Book of 2004"

"Lee Goldberg’s DIAGNOSIS MURDER books are
fast-paced, tightly constructed mysteries that are even better than the TV show.
You’ll read them in great big gulps!" Gregg Hurwitz, author of The
Program.

 

Those Who Can Do Teach

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Bill Rabkin and I will be teaching an online, four-week  screenwriting course entitled "Writing Dramatic Television"  (punchy title, huh?)  beginning on April 4th for the Writers University. Here’s the course listing:

In this four week course, two established executive producers/showrunners
will give you an inside look at the world of episodic television. You will
learn—and practice— the actual process involved in successfully writing a spec
episodic script that will open doors across Hollywood. You will learn how to
analyze a TV show and develop “franchise”-friendly story ideas. You will develop
and write a story under the direction of the instructors, who will be acting as
showrunners… and then, after incorporating their notes, you will be sent off to
write your outline. Finally, you will develop and refine your outline with the
instructors, leaving you at the end of the course ready to write your episodic
spec script…the first step in getting a job on a TV series.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up!

An Enterprising Director

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I wrote ENTERPRISE off a long time ago… so imagine my surprise when I watched Friday’s episode and I was riveted. Not by the plot (which was flat) or the acting (which was flatter), but the inventive, energetic, and fast-moving camera work and creative staging by director David Barrett. I wasn’t familiar with Barrett, but after watching the episode, I immediately looked him up. His credits include WITHOUT A TRACE, COLD CASE,  THE OC, and VERONICA MARS.  It’s a shame they didn’t bring him in much earlier… he certainly livened things up. I hope Ron Moore was watching…Barrett could do a hell of a job on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. I’m going to remember this guy.

The C Word on the L Word

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In all the press about THE L WORD, Ilene Chaiken is always credited as the creator of the series, and the story of how she fought to get her passion project on the air has been retold many times.

So imagine my surprise when I tuned into the first episode of the second season and found out there are two other writers listed in the "Created By" credits with her: Kathy Greenberg & Michelle Abbott. How come these two writers are never mentioned when she talks about the development of the show? Who are they? How come none of the reporters who interviewed Chaiken never thought to ask her about them? What is the real  story behind the creation of the show?

Speaking of THE L WORD, it’s a lot better this season. I sure don’t miss whatshername as whosits.

NYPD BLUE R.I.P.

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I watched the final episode of NYPD Blue last night… could the show have gone out with a duller episode? Compare the pilot to the final episode and it’s like two different shows… one that was edgy, risky, and exciting… and one that could have starred Buddy Ebsen.

The highly-touted NYPD Blue finale was everything the series, at its best, never was…ordinary, unremarkable television.  The finale was so bland, it could have aired on PAX… unedited.

Book’em Dano

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I went to the dentist today, and while he was drilling and scraping my teeth, I was plugged into my iPod, listening to TV themes (an admission that proves, in case anybody wondered, that I am a geek).  I’ve decided that "Hawaii 5-0" is the best instrumental TV theme in TV history… better than "Peter Gunn," "Miami Vice," "Star Trek," or even "Mission Impossible."

My Sisters’ Book

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Here’s a sneak peek at the cover of VISUAL CHRONICLES, the new book by my sisters, Linda Woods and Karen Dinino (click on the image for a larger picture). The cover is missing a few things… like their names… but they are very happy with it. VischroncoverxThe book comes out,  and the great sibling book tour begins, in February ’06…

Blubbering About Blurbs

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I got back from El Paso to find three emails from authors asking me if I would blurb their books. I’m always astonished that anyone want a blurb from me.  I mean c’mon, who is going to buy a book because Lee Goldberg says he likes it?  Who the hell is Lee Goldberg?

(Uh-oh, there I go talking about myself in the third person. Who do I think I am? A professional athlete?)

I’ve only blurbed a few over the years… Aimee & David Thurlo’s Ella Clah novels, Doug Lyle’s "Forensics for Dummies,"  Lono Waiwaiole’s "Wiley’s Shuffle," Paul Bishop’s "Tequila Mockingbird," Richard Yokley’s "TV Firefighters,"  Lewis Perdue’s upcoming novel, and a couple of others, and was flattered to be asked… though it puts me in an awkward position. What if I don’t like the books?   I have the same philosophy about blurbing that my friend, the much-better-looking-in-a t-shirt-than-me, author Gregg Hurwitz does:

No matter how much talent you have, to make it in publishing, you
always need the right help from the right people at the right time.
Call it luck, call it fate, call it whatever you please, but though
hard work and talent are a necessity (usually), few novelists I’ve met
have gotten by on these alone. I caught some breaks early in my career,
and I’m always grateful to those who read my work early and took a
gamble, putting in their time and making use of their contacts for me. Though writing is fiercely independent, I do see a responsibility to
give back to the community, to pass along the good karma that I’ve been
fortunate enough to receive. I don’t give back to the writing community
by telling author who need improvement that their books are fantastic,
and I don’t give back to the reading community by endorsing crap.

I’ve been able to politely decline the requests for blurbs over the last year because of my accident, the huge amount of writing I had to do, and the scary deadlines I had to meet.
This is the first time in months that my workload has eased up enough
for me to have the opportunity to read any manuscripts besides my own.

Over the years I have imposed on a lot of my friends (and authors I don’t know but whom I admire) for blurbs and many have been kind enough to come through for me. The least I can do is return
the favor… if not to the same authors, than to others. As it happens, these three authors are folks I’ve never asked for a blurb for my own work.

I only have a couple of caveats when it comes to blurbing:  I won’t blurb anything from the likes of PublishAmerica or other vanity presses and I won’t blurb anything I didn’t truly enjoy reading.  None of the three books I’m being asked to blurb are self-published and the authors say they won’t be hurt if, for whatever reason, I decide not to blurb their books. So I said yes, I’d read their manuscripts. Whether I actually decide to blurb them or not is a different story…

UPDATE (3-1-05) By way of  Diary of a Hype Hag comes this link to Adam Langer’s amusing article on the craft of  blurbing…