There’s a detailed interview with my friends Terry Erdmann & Paula Block, authors of the terrific new book MONK: THE OFFICIAL EPISODE GUIDE, over at the Monk Fun Page. The book is every bit as breezy and enjoyable as the show and is full of amusing and revealing anecdotes about the development and production of MONK. You can also watch a video interview with Terry and read Monk creator Andy Breckman’s Forward from the book over at the USA Network Monk site.
I Really Hope This Isn’t A Hoax Because I SO Want It To Be True…
Rush Limbaugh has been busted for possession of illegal prescription drugs… again.
Limbaugh was returning on a flight from the Dominican Republic when customs officials found a Viagra prescription that did not bear his name. Instead, the bottle of pills had the names of two doctors on it
according to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.
(Thanks to Making Light for the link).
MASH Memories
Ken Levine proves, once again, why his blog is a must-read for anyone who loves television, writing, and a good laugh. You don’t want to miss Part One of his latest M*A*S*H memory…the story of how he and his partner got their first assignment on the show. Next, I want him to tell us all about JOE & SONS…the complete series is sure to come out on DVD any day now.
This made me laugh
From Fleshbot:
No matter how far away you get, Keira Knightley, no matter how thick
you think your shirt is, no matter how private you think that beach is,
no matter what the resolution on the orbital telescope being used to
track your movements around the globe … we can still see your nipple.
Not that we’re obsessed with it or anything, we just thought you should
know.
This is a great time to be alive if you are a TV Geek Like me
TVShowsOnDVD reports that the complete series of the 70s sitcom BRIDGET LOVES BIRNEY is being released on DVD in September for $29.95. Then again, the complete series of ROAR, BOOK OF DANIEL, and COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF are coming out, too… so it’s clear this whole TV Shows on DVD business makes no sense at all. But it gives me hope that such forgotten classics as, ahem, SHE-WOLF OF LONDON and MURPHY’S LAW will some day show up on the shelves at Best Buy.
Booksigning 101
My friend Joe Konrath offers some detailed advice on doing bookstore signings. I agree with a lot of what he has to say but he mentioned something that absolutely stunned me:
I did an event last Saturday, and sold 40 hardcover books in 6 hours.
The week before I did 40 books in 8 hours (store wasn’t as crowded).
Week before, 60 books in 8 hours. My record is 120 in ten hours.[…]Time
to Leave. How long you stay is up to you. I think four hours is
minimum, and if the store is really busy I’ll stay for six or more.
He’ll stay in a store for eight hours? Geez, at that point, he might as well get a job there. I wouldn’t stay eight hours. I think at that point he crosses the line from dedication and enthusiasm into… well, something kind of scary. I even think four hours is pushing it.
I’ve been at this a while and most authors I know, from those just starting out to the most wildly successful, will stay at a store for two hours tops, unless it’s some kind of special event (which usually includes other authors). Four hours minimum? I don’t think so. It clearly works for Joe but I think for most authors it’s overstaying your welcome.
Shamus Award Nominees
The Private Eye Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2006 Shamus Awards (for works published in
2005). Needless to say, I was thrilled by their choices…though I fear I don’t stand a chance against Crais, Connelly, and Mosley. But wow, it sure is nice to be included in their company. The awards will be
presented on Sept. 29, 2006, at the PWA’s 25 Anniversary Banquet in
Madison, WI, which will be held during the Bouchercon World Mystery
Convention.
Best Hardcover
Oblivion by Peter Abrahams (Wm. Morrow), featuring Nick Petrov.
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown), featuring Mickey Haller.
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais (Doubleday), featuring Elvis Cole.
In A Teapot by Terence Faherty (Crum Creek Press), featuring Scott Elliot.
The Man with the Iron-On Badge by Lee Goldberg (Five Star), featuring Harvey Mapes.
Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown), featuring Easy Rawlins.
Best Paperback Original
Falling Down by David Cole (Avon), featuring Laura Winslow.
The James Deans by Reed Farrell Coleman (Plume), featuring Moe Prager.
Deadlocked by Joel Goldman (Pinnacle), featuring Lou Mason.
Cordite Wine by Richard Helms (Back Alley Books), featuring Eamon Gold.
A Killing Rain by PJ Parrish (Pinnacle), featuring Louis Kincaid.
Best First Novel
Blood Ties by Lori G. Armstrong (Medallion), featuring Julie Collins.
Still River by Harry Hunsicker (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Minotaur), featuring Lee Henry
Oswald.>The Devil’s Right Hand by J. D. Rhoades (St. Martin Minotaur), featuring Jack Keller.
Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure (Mysterious Press – Warner), featuring Calla Gentry.
Best Short Story
“Oh, What a Tangled Lanyard We Weave” by Parnell Hall. Murder Most Crafty (Berkley),
featuring Stanley Hastings.“Two Birds with One Stone” by Jeremiah Healy. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2005, featuring John Francis Cuddy.
“The Big Road” by Steve Hockensmith. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May 2005, featuring Larry Erie.
“A Death in Ueno” by Michael Wiecek. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, March 2005 featuring Masakazu Sakonju.
“The Breaks” by Timothy Williams. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2005 featuring Charlie Raines.
Daniel Woodrell
The Ones You Do. Under the Bright Lights. Give Us A Kiss. Woe to Live On. These are just a few of Daniel Woodrell’s wonderful books. This man should be a bestselling author, held in the same high regard as Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane. But while he’s well-reviewed, he’s not well-read (the same fate befell Ang Lee’s excellent RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, the movie version of Woe to Live On… it went unnoticed by audiences and tanked at the boxoffice). Hardly anybody is aware of him despite the fact he’s one of the best crime writers today…hell, he’s one of the best writers out there in any genre. My brother Tod pointed me to an interview with Woodrell in The Independent. Among his quotes:
"I just really like the verve and muscle of good crime fiction,
the narrative punch of it. The underlying principle of good crime
fiction is an insistence on a kind of root democracy. I’ve always
responded to that notion."
Beyond the Beyond Sale
As I mentioned here before, I’ve got hundreds of copies of my book BEYOND THE BEYOND that I need to unload to create room in my garage for my Mom’s stuff. In the last few days, I’ve donated books to the New Orleans Public Library as well as Better World Books, among others. But I still have plenty left.
I’ll be glad to send you a signed copy for $9.99, which includes media mail postage to anywhere in the United States.
BEYOND THE BEYOND is about ex-cop Charlie Willis, who handles “special security” for Pinnacle Pictures. His job: to protect the studio and its stars, to stop scandals before they explode, to the
keep the peace in the land of make-believe. How he does it is up to him. In this book, a sequel to “My Gun Has Bullets,” he has to protect the president of a fledgling TV network from an assassin, an A-list screenwriter from his homicidal agent, and the cast of a cult TV series from its legion of rabid,
homicidal fans.
Here’s a sampling of the critical praise for the book:
“Goldberg uses just about everything he can think of to send up the studio system, fandom, Star Trek, Trekkies, agents, actors… you name it, he’ll make you laugh about it.” Analog
"An outrageously entertaining take on the loathsome folkways of contemporary
showbiz,"Kirkus Reviews“Mr. Goldberg has an observant eye and a wicked pen!” Washington Times
“Beyond the Beyond reads like a modern-day Alice in Wonderland set against the venal world of the TV industry. It’s wonderfully revealing and uncannily accurate,” Vancouver Sun
"Stingingly funny! B+" Entertainment Weekly
"Some of the easily recognizable actors, agents and producers who are mercilessly ribbed may find
it hard to crack a smile at the author’s gag-strewn prose. Likewise those seekers after politically correct entertainment. But the rest of us should have no trouble….the novel’s satiric slant is strong enough to have an effigy of Goldberg beamed into outer space at the next Star Trek convention," Los Angeles Times
And yet, there were still 600 copies that didn’t sell. Even with a giant penis on the cover. Can you imagine that? If you’d like to buy one of them for $9.99, just click on the button below:
Box of Books
Today I received my author’s copies of MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII. I’ve seen the book in bound galleys and I’ve seen the cover… so technically it’s not like I’m actually seeing it for the first time. Even so, it’s always a thrill when that box of author’s copies arrives. Duane Swierczynski knows what I mean. He got a few boxes full of bound galleys THE BLONDE of his third book today…
Anyway, there’s really no thrill like seeing your novel in bound form
with a kick-ass cover (designed by the mega-talented Kathryn Parise)…
times one hundred. God help me when the actual hardcover arrives in a
few months. It’s a thrill that will never get old. And if it does, then
it’s probably time to me to retire and weave baskets, or something.