Newsletter 8/21

August 2021

Hard to believe that my last Newsletter was April 2020. Check it out here.

I’ve gotten a few thousand emails from my readers since then, with many people asking why I wasn’t sending my usual monthly Newsletter and if I was all right—meaning, I guess, still alive. Well, I’m fine and I thank you for asking.

I had actually begun a May 2020 Newsletter, but never finished it. Why? Maybe because I felt I had to mention the pandemic in my Newsletter, and I was tired of the subject, and I had nothing to say that hadn’t already been said. But mostly I decided to clear my head and concentrate on the book I was writing during that period of social isolation. Well, the book is finished, and it’s titled The Maze. It’s the eighth book in the John Corey series and it’s sort of a sequel to the first Corey book, Plum Island.

The Maze begins where Plum Island began: on the back porch of John’s uncle’s house on the North Fork of Long Island. The last time we saw John Corey was in Radiant Angel and he was working for the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Now he’s separated from the DSG and also separated from his wife, FBI Special Agent Kate Mayfield, who is living and working in Washington D.C. As Corey sits on the porch, having a beer and contemplating his future, he gets a visit from Detective Beth Penrose, who was John’s love interest in Plum Island, and Detective Penrose has an interesting proposition for her former lover.

And this begins a tale of murder, betrayal, mortal danger, and, of course, sex and romance. I’ll post the first chapter or two on my website later this year, which you can read for free. And if you like what you read, maybe you’ll buy the book.

When will The Maze be published? Well, normally a book that’s completed in the Spring can be published for the Fall/Holiday season, but because of Covid there’s a backup in the supply chain and a bottleneck in the printing process. So to insure maximum impact, the publisher and I have agreed to a publication for Spring 2022, in time for Father’s Day and summer reading. This will be the longest time I’ve waited for a completed book to be published, but in this business patience is a virtue, and timing is everything. Meanwhile, you can see The Maze posted on Amazon. The announced June 7 publication date may change by a week or so. But you can pre-order it now. 

So what am I working on this summer? Well, I’m working on my tan. That’s what I told my publisher and agents, and they thought that was the title of my next book: My Tan. But I’ll be back to work after Labor Day.

And now for a brief word or two about Covid: It sucked. Still does. I hope you and your loved ones have come through this with relatively few bad experiences. Stay healthy, and be safe. Enough said.

On the movie front, Paramount Motion Pictures has optioned the motion picture rights to my last solo book, The Cuban Affair. More on this when I hear from my agents about a screenplay, a director, casting, and other pieces of the mosaic that go into making a movie.

Also on the movie front, two of my older novels, The Gold Coast and The Charm School, have been resurrected by the production companies that own the motion picture rights. So hopefully we’ll see some progress on both books. Hollywood works in mysterious ways. I’ll keep you informed.

As for my next co-authored book after The Deserter, my son and co-author, Alex, is busy writing and sending me chapters for my input. The book we’re writing is titled Blood Lines and features the two main characters from The Deserter: Army CID detectives Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, who have been reunited to investigate the murder of a fellow CID agent in Berlin. If you liked Brodie and Taylor together in Venezuela, you’ll love them in the atmospheric and tense setting of Berlin. Publication date is undetermined, but I’ll let you know as soon as I know. Also, we have serious TV interest in The Deserter.

As for what I’m reading this summer, I just read an advance copy of Brad Meltzer’s The Lightning Rod which, like The Maze, is being held for release and will be published March 8, 2022. Brad is a good buddy and a great writer, and this is one of his best. Pre-order it now. Brad Meltzer never disappoints.

Also, I’m reading The Doctor’s Secret by Tina Funt. Tina is an M.D. and a longtime friend, and she’s put pen to paper and written a prescription for everyone who loves a smart and sexy novel. The Doctor’s Secret is available on Amazon in print and ebook. I’m loving the story and learning a lot about the lives and loves of a young woman going to medical school and defying the odds by setting up a private practice while juggling personal and family issues. Can’t wait to find out what the doctor’s secret is.

Well, that’s enough news for now after a very long hiatus. I promise to be a more constant correspondent in the months ahead, now that I’m unemployed.

Have a wonderful summer. We all deserve it.

Sincerely,