Vol. 001 Num. 559
I hope you guys had a great 4th, with lots of fireworks. Sausalito features surreal fireworks, pretty incredible -- go to my Facebook page to see photos.
This month, for the first time, I've combined my regular monthly newsletter (what you're reading now) with MY BIG HONKING ANNOUNCEMENT. (Wait, keep reading.)
First: Football News
All the talking sportsheads solemnly claimed that July 15th is the latest date the owners and players can come to agreement in order for the pre-season to happen. Now the sportsheads have moved their do-or-die date to the 22nd. Yep, this is now the absolutely, I-kid-you-not, last ditch date to come to agreement or else there's NO pre-season. If there's no pre-season the owners will lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Tell me, are these people all idiots? The players aren't off the hook -- they lose moolah too, so it's not as if there isn't incentive. Have these talks devolved into a testosterone stand-off? I'd like to drop kick all of them.
Second: Titles
You've sent me quite a few title suggestions for the FBI thriller out next year, in -- gasp -- 2012. (Isn't there some wild-haired Mayan talk going around about 2012?) If you haven't yet had a spurt of title brilliance , get yourself spurting and give me your suggestions.
Third: Prince of Ravenscar
I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for the 11th Sherbrooke novel. I'm in the middle of all the copy editor's snarky comments (the CE is right much of the time which really burns me. On the other hand, it's better than having one of you guys correct me). Prince of Ravenscar's a pip -- lots of character interaction (funny dialogue) and a very cool mystery. The cover is so awesome, it inspires me to believe there will be a full football season this fall -- it's a knockout. Let's see if the art department can keep the cover spurt going.
IT's NOW TIME FOR THE GREAT BIG HONKING NEWS:
Part I: Whiplash in paperback/ebook is out right now, so if you haven't read it, you've got less than a year if the Mayans are right and the bottom falls out of L.A, leaving only Hollywood. If I were you, I wouldn't procrastinate.
Part 2: On July 19th, next Tuesday, Split Second is ready to leap into your arms (nice and heavy, so be ready) or sizzle magically through the ether onto your ebook reader. I gotta say, I'm particularly excited about Split Second -- it will grab you by the throat, it will curdle the non-fat milk you're drinking, it will make you seek comfort, or perhaps protection in a closet, with a drink. Have a great time with this one, and don't forget, I want to hear what you think, okay?
Have a great July and do not, I repeat, do not wait for the Mayans --
Comments
#1 Split Second scared the
Split Second scared the living daylights out of me. The FBI series is extraordinarily proficient at weaving a thread of unworldly phenomena (telepathy, projected images, “ghouls”) in such a way that the plot does not entirely depend on it, but it plays an important role between the relationships of the characters. I won’t give away this particular one, but given how little science really understands about conceptual dimensions, I’m willing to buy into it. I have no problem with the formula for the FBI books – boy meets girl, girl doesn’t like boy, but then she does. He may rescue her, but she does a lot of rescuing herself. This one was fun because my own daughter blew off her fiancé when they first met because she thought he was “cocky” – took him forever to get her to go out with him! Pulling in the name AND the DNA of a notorious criminal gives the novel a chance to play a double whammy with both the genetics and the psychology of behavior, which Coulter plays like the first violinist for the Boston Pops. And her female bad guys- they are bad-to-the-bone evil, but not without their own pathetic psychosis. Additionally, the tendency towards dysfunctional families in our society gives her lots of material to work with, and this one’s a goodie! All in all, good luck putting this down.
#2 I read Split Second - it was
I read Split Second - it was absolutely great!!!! It only took me about 3 full days to read the whole thing. The book was amazing. Can not wait until the new one comes out next year.