Janet Evanovich's Wicked Appetite Is Out: is Diesel the new Stephanie Plum?

Published by St.MartinsPress
read an excerpt here.

I saw the new Janet Evanovich book prominently displayed in my local Barnes and Noble this week: Wicked Appetite appears to be selling well and lotsa folk seem to like it, too (at least one did in Roanoke, Virginia -- Amazon right now is showing as many giving it five stars as are giving it one star).

The star of the book?  Diesel, whom we have met in the Plum series already.  Apparently, Diesel is getting his own series with this debut and we can look forward to another 6 or 7 books here.  The twist?  It's got a paranormal vein -- Diesel is one of the "Unmentionables," a group of humans with special (magic!) abilities.

My take?  I love Janet Evanovich as a writer, she entertains me.  She makes me laugh, guaranteed.  And that's important -- laughter at the ready.  I'll read Wicked Appetite.  However, Mrs. E is also astute in following the marketplace. 

She's tipped her hat to Nascar fever with another series (Alex Barnaby).  She's also taken a stab at graphic novels.  And, we all know she began in romance and has seen her romance work reissued over the past few years. 

So, while I look forward to the Diesel series as a reader, I'm also pondering Diesel as a writer.  Humor and paranormal, meshing?  Where else is this happening, or is it?  Is this Janet E's taking note of the success of the Twilight series?  of Harry Potter?

(Which brings to mind the mash-ups, particularly the Austen ones, but that's a different post for a different day.)

UPDATE:  I read Wicked Appetite, and I was disappointed.  Read my review over at Amazon if you want to know why. 

Texas Book Festival 2010 - List of Authors

The Texas Book Festival is set for October 16 - 18, 2010, and the list of authors has been finalized and published online at the Festival website. 

Click on the name of an author in this list, and you'll be taken to an individual bio page, like this one for Meg Cabot. 

National Talk Like a Pirate Day - September 19, 2010

How time flies!  It doesn't seem like a full year has passed since last year's Talk Like a Pirate Day, does it? (For details, check out the holiday's International Official Web Site.)

For help in learning nuances - as well as some grammar rules and nifty vocabulary - in Talking Pirate (this is pretty funny), check this short video out on YouTube (thanks to Mental Floss for sharing it):



YARRRR!!!!!

Author Joe Konrath Sells 200 Books a Day on Amazon

Joe Konrath is getting lots of media coverage since MediaBistro.com picked up his blog post, where he reports that the sells 200 books/day at Amazon, compared to 100/month on iPad.

However, that is just one tidbit of all the juicy info that this experienced thriller writer has to share -- so don't stop with the MediaBistro blurb, go read his entire blog post.

J.B. Stanley Reveals Her Profits From Cozy Mysteries Series

Way of the Guilty will be
released August 31, 2010.

Jennifer (J.B.) Stanley writes more than one cozy mystery series -- the Flab Five Supper Club mystery series; the Molly Appleby Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries; and The Hope Street Church mystery series.

I have read more than one of both the Hope Street Church series and the Flab Five Supper Club, and I recommend them both -- if you're a cozy mystery lover, you'll enjoy these books.

Recently, at the group blog Cozy Chicks, J.B. Stanley did a lot of us a favor by actually discussing the money that she's making from her efforts.  For the details, check out her post.  The numbers aren't that high, folks. It's definitely a labor of love.

For example, Stanley reports her average advance is $3000, $5000, or $7500 per book, she gets an average of an additional $500 or $1000 for large print or foreign rights, and then she turns around and spends 50-75% of her advance on promoting the book.

For more information:
Janet Evanovich Splitting From St. Martin's Press
Mystery Writer Joe Konrath Talks Money
Highly Successful Authors Put Their Two Cents Worth on The Money Question

How They Do It: Ridley Pearson

Great interview with Ridley Pearson over at The Bill Thrill, the webzine maintained by ITW (International Thriller Writers).

While the author is being interviewed as he promotes his latest Walt Fleming novel, In Harm's Way, there's some good stuff in here for writers to glean and use. Particularly, his discussion of building character arcs (as opposed to plots) and his ease with using real life folk as the basis for his characters -- particularly his protagonists.

Janet Evanovich Splitting from St Martin's Press After 15 Years? Is this Smart? The Movie Sounds Like a Nightmare.

You know that Janet Evanovich is BIG with capital letters when Deadline Hollywood's Nikke Finke interrupts her coverage of the film industry to report on Evanovich's negotiations for publishing her next 4 books (presumably in the Stephanie Plum series, numbers 17 - 20). 

According to Deadline, Evanovich's son is acting as her agent, and St. Martin's Press (whom she has been with for the past 15 years) isn't going along with his offer of $50,000,000 for the next four books. 

Yes, folks, that is $12.5 million per book.  Deadline is reporting that St. Martin's Press isn't interested, and Janet's son/agent is approaching other publishing houses.  The comments to the Deadline coverage are interesting, and not too nice. 

What they don't mention is the fact that Janet E. may think those books are more than worthy of that sum, given that the series is about to hit the big screen in a big way.  And fans have been waiting years and years for this -- they've been debating who should play what character at Janet E's website for a long, long time. 

Stephanie Plum Movie Being Cast Now

Of course, the fact that they've finally decided to bring Stephanie Plum to the big screen after all these years should impact the book deal.  Assuming the movie is a hit, readership should expand to those who've never heard of the series before, right?  Check for details at IMDB. 

Katherine Heigl got the plum part (pun intended) of Stephanie, and today it was announced that Sherri Shephard will play Lula.  The announcement also reports that Shephard will play a dual role, two prostitutes with hearts of gold.  I'm assuming one is Lula.  Huh? 

Julie Ann Robertson is directing.  Check out her background -- she's cutting her film teeth on Stephanie Plum's movie debut.  Her background is in TV episodes.  Five of Grey's Anatomy.  Three of Weeds. 

Great. 

They've already cast most everyone else -- except Grandma Mazur.  Moretti will be played by Jason O'Mara; Ranger, by Daniel Sunjata.   Right, big names.... And the way that Janet E. reports on the casting, looks like she has zip to do with this production.  She appears to be learning things from the news media, just like you and me. 

According to her website, Janet Evanovich sold the movie rights to One for the Money back in 1993.  She's got no say-so or legal right to any decision here.  However, you'd think the movie folk would be smart enough to ask .....

What, she's not involved in the screenplay?  Nope. 

Liz Brixius is credited right now for writing it.  Not Janet E.  Who is Lix Brixius?  Ye Gads.  She wrote for Nurse Jackie, which she also executive produced.  That's it, Dear Reader.  Nurse Jackie, the TV show.  Her only other writing cred?  One episode of Insatiable. 

The location?  They're filming the movie in Pittsburgh, folks.  Not Trenton (setting for the books).  Not even in New Jersey, period. 

I'm adding all this to my prayer list.  I am not kidding. 

Betting on this Movie as a reason to leave St. Martin's Press?

I'm not sure about this film, and read that as I'm shocked and saddened by all this, and I'm wondering how many others share my concern.  I'm a big Evanovich fan and I'm beyond nervous.  I'm pretty angry right now. 

I'm wondering about Heigl playing an Italian from Jersey.  I'm wondering about a TV director and a TV writer being let loose on a storyline that I treasure. 

They better not screw this up.  Maybe I'll just never, ever, ever watch this thing.  Heigl?  With black hair?  Reallllly?????

I'd Stay with St. Martin's ....

And a bad movie could be a detriment to this franchise, maybe St. Martin's Press isn't optimistic about this film effort.  Lord knows it's look like they've got good reason to be.

Hope Janet doesn't get hurt in all this.  As well as Stephanie and the gang.

Mulholland Books - New Crime Imprint

Little, Brown has officially announced it's launching a new "suspense fiction" imprint with books hitting the stores in Spring 2011.

According to its new site, MulhollandBooks wants "to publish books you can't stop reading."

While Galley Cat is spreading the news that this is a "crime imprint," Mulholland defines it scope as " crime novels, thrillers, police procedurals, spy stories, even supernatural suspense." It's interesting to boot that they're already talking about an internet marketing focus, with "online community building" and "authentic connections between authors, readers, and publisher."

Hmmmm. Perhaps just as interesting as this imprint's debut is their plan to hit the ground running with a heavy web focus. Let's see what they do with that.....

Going by a very cool name, Mulholland is touting new works from Marcia Clark (of OJ Simpson trial fame - she was the prosecutor); Lawrence Block; and Charlie Huston. Within a year from its debut, Mulholland promises 24 books a year - that's 2 books a month, one hardback and one, paperback.

They've even got a cool little video on the new website: http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/. Very film noir. So far, so good, right?

"The Value of a Book" - CEO Panel Discussion from BookExpo America on Book TV Available Online

Today, there was a great panel discussion on CSPAN2's BookTV that's available in its entirety online at the BookTV site.  Brought together to discuss "the Value of a Book," some of the biggest in the publishing industry gathered together to talk about the future of books and book publishing.  Including author compensation.

There were talks about the Cloud.  There were talks about making books more enticing, and mention was made of the vellum used in the new Steve Martin novel that's coming out in the fall entitled An Object of Beauty.  We're to expect a very physically beautiful book here, according to the panel.  But will that help sell the contents? 

Scott Turow made a point that I've been thinking for years now: why did the ebook get introduced as a simultaneous product with the newly released hardback?  Readers expect paperbacks to follow months after the hardback, why not follow a similar path for the ebook?  Good question, I think.

Panel Members - Cream of the Crop

Brick and mortar bookstores were represented here, as well as agents, authors, publishers, etc.:

1. Jonathan Galassi - President, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2. Bob Miller - Group publisher, Workman Publishing and founder of Hyperion
3. Esther Newberg -  Executive Vice President, International Creative Management (literary agency)
4. Skip Prichard - President and CEO, Ingram Content Group Inc. ( book wholesaler)
5. David Shanks - CEO, Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
6. Oren Teicher - CEO, American Booksellers Association
7. Scott Turow - author, attorney, president of Author's Guild

Was a Consensus Reached?  No.

No definitive answers were found.  It was nice to hear what appeared to be genuine concern for paying writers what they're worth for the work that they do. 

Go listen.  It's fascinating and important, whether you're a reader or writer.

Magazines Sales Up in a Bad Economy - the "Notable Achievers" of 2010

Good Housekeeping, August 1928
Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Wooden Horse Magazine gives us all the heads up this morning with news that several magazines boosted their retail sales in a significant way during this bad economic period.  That's right: they've grown in retail sales and they're magazines.

Brings to mind Mark Twain's famous quote, "rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."  I love magazines, and I take this as great news. 

For their efforts, they've been honored by the Harringtons in their New Single Copy industry newsletter as "Notable Achievers" by the company that monitors national magazine sales.

I wasn't surprised at Mother Earth News.  I was a bit surprised at Rider.  (For the full list, with links to the award winner's web sites, check out Wooden Horse.)

The New Single Copy, published by John Harrington (Harrington Associates, LLC) has a lot more detail on the subject of magazine sales if you're interested in learning more.  Harrington Associates manages the BIPAD system of tracking magazine sales -- that barcode on each issue you buy has a series of identification numbers within it which form the basis for the periodic tallies of magazine sales. 

Which means that the NSC awards are a big deal -- these are the people in the know about such things.