YouTube Interview - Lisa Scottoline

Blagojevich Gets Million Dollar Book Deal - Will YOU buy that book?

In today's news former Illinois governor Blagojevich failed to get federal prosecutors thrown off his corruption case -- the prosecutor has described Balgojevich's activities as a "white collar crime spree" that would make Abe Lincoln "roll over in his grave."

And yet, he's just made over a million bucks (all we know is "six figures") with his agreement to write a purported expose of the dark side of politics (there's another side?) for Phoenix Books. The tome is scheduled to hit the shelves in October.

I just gotta wonder two things:

1. what juice can he possibly put in this story, when you know his lawyers aren't going to let him write anything that pertains to the pending charges?

2. who cares? I'm not planning on even borrowing this one from the library, much less spend cash on the darn thing. Six-figures? Right. Sure. Stinks like a three-day old fish.

PBW Made Me Laugh - Maybe You Will Too

Great post today by Lynn Viehl over at Paperback Writer. Maybe her best post ever. Go read it, you'll laugh.

And, for backstory before you do ... read this post, which explains the whole shiny pink cover horror.

Esquire's 7 Greatest Stories - Full Text and Free

Over at Esquire magazine's website, you can read the seven works which the editors of Esquire have collected as the "7 Greatest Stories in the History of Esquire Magazine," with Gay Talese's essay on Frank Sinatra ("Frank Sinatra Has a Cold") considered to be the best of the best.

Mario Puzo Godfather Lessons: Comparing the Book to the Screenplay

I love the Godfather movies, even III, even The Saga (you know, the one where they cut and pasted I and II together, chronologically), and sure, of course, the Director's Cut.

But I'd never read Mario Puzo's original work, The Godfather, thinking it would make me like the movies less or that I wouldn't like the book, having seen the movie. Hey, I already knew that Sonny had dark hair in the book -- and James Caan is Sonny to me. I didn't want my head messed with, if you know what I mean.

Then, last weekend, I was at the library roaming thru the AudioBooks, and there was a brand new green box, filled with the unabridged version of Puzo's The Godfather. I'm not sure why I picked it up.

But, boy howdy, am I glad I did. Before I had finished the first CD, I was at the bookstore buying a copy. I could only find paperback, and I'm still not satisfied: I gotta have the hardback. I need it! The highlighting soaks thru the paperback version.

And, for a writer, there is so much to learn here. Plot, character, voice, setting. Amazing stuff.

Like what, you ask?

Well, first ... the book gets you hooked right off the bat, but it doesn't start off like the film. On paper, you're down at the NYC Criminal Courts, with Bonasera the undertaker. Remember him? Next, you're over in Hollywood with Johnny Fontane and his second wife, a beautiful movie star with violet eyes. (I'm still thinking she's an homage to Ava Gardner even if she does have Liz Taylor eyes.) Enzo the baker shows up, another locale, another thread drawing you in. Bang, bang, bang.

So different from the movie. But Mario Puzo wrote both the book and the screenplay and there is master storytelling here. Puzo Lessons begin on the first page: he's got Bonasera's story down in less than 1000 words and then he flips coasts to take us into drunk Johnny Fontane's Beverly Hills mansion. Puzo Lesson on get-er-done: edit down that word count.

I understand the characters more - and I'm barely into the book. I get Tom Hagen more than I ever did, same thing for Kay. Heck, same for Enzo. Puzo Lesson on people: have them all fully dimensional, no matter how secondary they may ultimately be to the plot. Don't skimp on your prep.

Puzo also takes the time to insert wisdom in these pages. Nice little zingers are scattered here, things that are in the Quotation books now. Puzo Lesson: good writing involves a level of wisdom, as well as that old adage "write what you know." Puzo knew NYC because he was from NYC. And, Puzo had learned a number of life lessons during his career as a reporter before this book ever came to fruition. This all shows.

Puzo built a world that so many loved to enter - and still do. How that was built, how those characters were developed, what he thought was important and why, reveal themselves in a fascinating way through this process.

The Puzo Lessons

Maybe part of all this is listening to his words, and then reading them. That does give nuance.

But another part of it is comparing what Puzo built in the book and how he revisited it for the movie. Especially for the first film.

Another nugget: Puzo's interview by Larry King. (He saw The Godfather as a family story, not a crime story. Interesting, right?)

Lisa Scottoline Has A Column - And You Should Read It

Lisa Scottoline has a weekly column in the Philidelphia Inquirer, which appears every Sunday under the title "Chick Wit."

You should read it. It's hilarious. And, of course, it's well written.

Janet Evanovich is Working Right Now

I discovered a short post over at Janet Evanovich's website, where she describes her average workday. It made me feel better, and I thought I'd post it here (it's the next to last FAQ), for all of us to remember as we're procrastinating or distracting ourselves or eating more chips, making more coffee:

Janet Evanovich is working right now. And she has been since 6 this morning.

Cowboy up, my friends.

This gets to me so much, that I've changed my screensaver: "Janet Evanovich is WORKING right now!" Really helps keep me on track and away from standing, staring into an open fridge.

I may lose weight this way, too, right?

Image: Fearless Fourteen was the Most Borrowed Book of 2008 in Dayton, Ohio, among other places. Check out my post today over at Writer-Lawyer for more on such things....

RIP Donald E. Westlake

Four books a year. Books worth reading. Plus screenplays, like The Grifters. Wow.

Donald E. Westlake died of a heart attack on his way to dinner with his wife, on a nice, warm night while vacationing in Mexico. He was 75.

Read his obit by the New York Times for details: Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75

Over 40 Romances: Last Chance Harvey Gets Okay Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an okay rating (75%) so maybe it's worth your while to go and check out this year's over-50 romantic comedy, Last Chance Harvey.

To sum it up from the reviews I've read, it's Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson doing their part to keep up with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give ... and that's going to be very hard to do.

Add to that, Hoffman is 71 and Thompson is 49. Poor Emma. Somethings in Hollywood never change -- note to self: romance better served where hero is not so old that he can be the dad of the over-40 or over-50 heroine. Geez.

By the way, Diane Keaton was born in 1945, Jack Nicholson in 1937 ... Keaton at 57 not only made more sense coupling with Nicholson at 66, web bios report the two stars actually dated back in the 70s.

For another viewpoint, check out SmackDown! Last Chance Harvey (2008) vs. Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Bottom line: hopefully, someone out there is recognizing a market for over-40 romance stories on the shelves and on the screen ... BabyBoomers do fall in love ... and aassuming this to be true, the best one hasn't hit yet.

Not Everybody's Sales Are Going Down - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Over at GalleyCat, there's some good news for writers:

"Overall, fantasy sales are down 18 percent compared to the first 49 weeks of 2007, but mass market paperback sales are up 14 percent—and overall romance sales are up 83 percent, with mass market paperbacks alone experiencing a 50 percent boost. And that's not even considering how many romance books might, in a different climate, have been categorized as fantasies..."

That's right: Mass market paperbacks are skyrocketing in sales ... and romance sales were up 83%.

Anything that's up 83% in this economy is big, big news.