Newsletter 11/09

November 2009

I hope everyone else had a wonderful summer. I spent the whole summer, including weekends, writing. And just last week, I wrote the two most beautiful words an author can write: The End.

Yes, I am finished with the sequel to The Lion’s Game. And as I reported in my last newsletter, the title of my new book is The Lion — short and simple, and it leaves a lot of room for my name in big letters, as you can see here.

Actually, this cover was finished before I finished the book, but now it has all come together — book and cover, and even a publication date, which is June 8, 2010. That’s a long time away, but it’s worth the wait. The Lion is every bit as good as The Lion’s Game, and in many ways better. John Corey, NYPD, returns at the very top of his game, and his wife and partner, FBI Special Agent Kate Mayfield has her hands full trying to rein in her rambunctious husband as they pursue Libyan terrorist Asad Khalil who escaped their grasp in The Lion’s Game. This book is so good I actually read it myself.

The Lion will be on the shelves in time for Father’s Day, graduation, and summer vacation. It would also make a great belated Mother’s Day gift. And, of course, for the one or two million people whose birthday is June 8, what a special gift this would be — a book born on the same day as your friend or loved one.

On to other subjects: as I also mentioned in my previous newsletter, my last novel, The Gate House is now available in trade (large-size) paperback. This is a nice, easy-to-read format, and is only slightly smaller than the hardcover edition for about half the price. Included in this edition of The Gate House is Chapter One of The Lion. At no extra charge. And six months before publication date.

Also now available is the trade paperback edition of Wild Fire, the previous John Corey novel, which also includes Chapter One of The Lion.

Please look for (and buy) both these new editions at your local bookstore or from your favorite online book source. And don’t worry if you’ve already read The Gate House or Wild Fire; if you’re like me, you can’t remember what you’ve read, and it will all seem new and fresh.

As I said earlier — or did I not say? — I’m going to post Chapter One of The Lion on my website — but I’m also going to do something bold and different: I’m posting the last chapter of The Lion on my website. That’s right — I’m giving away the end. So, you can read Chapter One, and Chapter Forty-seven, then decide if you’d like to buy what comes in between. Or, you can make up your own story about what came between Chapters One and Forty-seven. Hell, it might be better than my version.

All right, just kidding — the last chapter remains a state secret. But you can read Chapter One of The Lion (to be published in June 2010) by clicking here, or in the trade paperback editions of The Gate House and Wild Fire, available now in bookstores and online retailers.

Now that I’m done with The Lion, I am joining the growing ranks of the unemployed, and to fill my days, I am re-opening my website mailbox so that my readers can email me here with their thoughts, advice, criticism, praise, or questions. I try to answer mailbox emails, but sometimes the volume is overwhelming. Still, I’d like to hear from you, and if you don’t hear back from me, write to your mother — she always responds. Kids not so much.

I like to give movie news in my newsletters, but it’s been pretty quiet since I last wrote. Basically, the books that were in development — The Charm School and The Gold Coast — remain in a holding pattern. Columbia/Sony, who own the motion picture rights to The Lion’s Game and Plum Island (both John Corey novels), have expressed an interest in revisiting these projects. Stay tuned.

Sometime after my unemployment checks run out, I will begin my next novel. As of now, I have a great title — Captain — and a really terrific cover, but I have no idea what the book is about. Sea captain? Airline captain? Army captain? Police captain? The cover is blue and gold, with my name in big red letters, and a big black question mark where the artwork should be. Publication date, according to my astrologer, will be May 17, 2011. More on this in my next Newsletter.

That’s it for this Newsletter. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and peaceful Thanksgiving. Despite the economy and the world situation, we have much to be thankful for. And please remember our troops stationed around the world in your thoughts and your prayers as you gather ’round the holiday table.

Sincerely,