Newsletter 12/16

December 2016

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I’m not a big fan of fowl, so my wife bought me a beef Wellington for Thanksgiving. We had about twenty people for dinner and four of them were from Denmark, though I’m not sure how they got there. They sort of understood the holiday, including my explanation of why the head of the household ate beef Wellington while everyone else ate turkey. I can’t remember what I said, but the Danes thought it was a wonderful tradition. Me too. Next year, rib eye.

In my last Newsletter I announced that the John Corey series had been optioned by Sony-TV, and that ABC-TV would air the pilot episode. I also asked my Newsletter readers to suggest an actor to play the role of John Corey. Holy mackerel! I got hundreds of suggestions and they were all over the board, including Robert Taylor and Brad Dexter, who are not available because they’re dead.

Anyway, here is the list, in alphabetical order, that all of you have come up with – most of these names were chosen multiple times: Ben Affleck, Michael Angarano, Alec Baldwin, Eric Bana, Jonathan Banks, Josh Brolin, Gerard Butler, Jim Caviezel, Don Cheadle, Morris Chestnut, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Costner, Bryan Cranston, Clayne Crawford, John Cusack, Tim Daly, Matt Damon, Eric Dane, Brian Dennehy, Johnny Depp, Brad Dexter (deceased), Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeffrey Donovan, Robert Downey Jr., David Duchovny, Josh Duhamel, Scott Eastwood, Aaron Eckhart, Nathan Fillion, Harrison Ford, Matthew Fox, Jon Hamm, David Harbour, Liam Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Denis Leary, Rob Lowe, Josh Lucas, Gabriel Macht, Matthew McConaughey, Bruce McGill, Jake McLaughlin, Christopher Meloni, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, David Morse, Edward Norton, Chris Noth, Alex O’Loughlin, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, Tom Selleck, Gary Sinise, Wesley Snipes, James Spader, Sullivan Stapleton, Jason Stratham, Robert Taylor (deceased), Billy Bob Thornton, John Travolta, Donnie Wahlberg, Patrick Warburton, Michael Weatherly, Titus Welliver, Bruce Willis, and Dean Winters.

The most chosen names were: Alec Baldwin, Jim Caviezel, Aaron Eckhart, John Travolta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Weatherly, and Bruce Willis.

Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis have both told me that they like the Corey character, and Aaron Eckhart once expressed an interest. This is not my decision to make, but if it was, I’d go with a guy who created the character – someone who knows what makes John Corey tick. Right?

But seriously. Baldwin, Eckhart and Willis are my three top choices, and I thank you all for your good suggestions which I’ve passed on to those involved with the production. Hopefully, by January or February, the right John Corey will be found, and I’ll announce the name here.

Meanwhile, I’d like to ask you all for your suggestions about who should play the female lead. I’m not sure how the Corey series will develop in regard to John Corey’s female partner, so I can’t say that she will be Kate Mayfield, his FBI agent wife who appears in most of the Corey novels. But in general, who do you think would be a tough, but sexy and smart lady to stand up to John Corey and keep him focused and out of trouble? This is a more difficult task than picking Corey, and I’d be interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

In my last Newsletter, I said I’d list a few of my favorite books of 2016. Well, I realized if I did that, I’d probably forget some books written by friends and colleagues, and they’d hold a grudge against me for the rest of their lives. Not that authors are petty, narcissistic, egotistical, thin-skinned, and insecure, but if they were, they’d flip out if I didn’t mention their wonderful books. So to avoid any unpleasantness from my author friends, I’ll just say that I love everything any of them wrote in 2016. Great stuff. Can’t wait for your next.

As for my own books, it’s totally your choice if you want to buy them as holiday gifts. They’re great books, but I would understand if you’d rather give someone, say, a fruitcake instead of a DeMille novel. Fruitcakes are good, and healthy – if you don’t eat them. And who does? It’s the thought that counts anyway. If you give a fruitcake to someone, they know what you think of them. A DeMille novel might send a message to the recipient that you think they’re intelligent. And you don’t always want to do that. Right? Your choice.

Anyway, if you do give one of my novels as a gift, I hereby give permission for you to autograph my name. You can copy my signature below. Who’s gonna know? Say something nice.

And finally, my best wishes to you for a merry and magical Christmas, a happy and healthy Hanukkah, and a New Year filled with joy, love, prosperity, and peace on Earth.

See you next year.

Sincerely,