The Old Place: August 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Best Mann: "What IS this place?"

Best Mann For The Job #26: As the desperate fugitives reach the outskirts of Hope Falls, they come across one of the small town's more, er, "colorful" attractions, the gas station and museum of oddities. In the next strip, readers will begin to get a sense of how bizarre -- and, frankly, low-rent -- the place is.

The GAS -- FOOD -- MUSEUM OF ODDITIES comes from the original novel detailing Grace's former life as an unhappy lady pro wrestler. Of course, you haven't read the novel yet, but we hope to change that soon. (Don't worry, we'll keep you posted as details become available.)

Best Mann For The Job stars Grace Mann, a woman with a complicated past who returns home to become sheriff of Hope Falls, Tennessee. This serial drama aspires to the style of the classic continuity comic strips, with the crime-bustin' chops of a rural Dick Tracy, the small-town charm of Gasoline Alley, and the emotional touches of The Heart of Juliet Jones. (Or if you prefer, think of it as a cross between T.J. Hooker and Northern Exposure.)

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BEST MANN FOR THE JOB (Teaser Trailer) 00:15

BEST MANN FOR THE JOB (Official Trailer) 1:59

Previously:
Best Mann: Seriously, the town is small
Best Mann: "Any word on those bank robbers?"
Best Mann: KA-BOOM ("Mann Vs. Superman")
Best Mann: "The tank's cracking!"
Best Mann 1.20: "Consider them armed and dangerous!" (Honoring Osamu Tezuka)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Sorry for the delay

If you've noted the lack of posts the past couple of weeks, I've been busy nursing a painful injury, and then this week I spent four days at the hospital. No worries - I'm (probably) fine. I've got medicine, am home resting, and will be seeing a couple of different doctors in the coming weeks.

All of which is to say, I've not had much time for email or the Internet. (This week, it wasn't even available to me.)

But I'm at home and on the mend. Onward!

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Publishing news (Aug 8)

Finger Lickin' Fifteen author Janet Evanovich tops the list, Twilight author Stephanie Meyer fights charges of plagiarism, Dewey author Vicki Myron gets a million bucks, and Mr. Monk And The Dirty Cop author Lee Goldberg publishes another book on Amazon's Kindle.

Janet Evanovich's 'Finger Lickin' Fifteen' Most Downloaded Book From Library List (Market Wire/press release)
Evanovich formula still finger lickin' good (Boston Globe)
10 Questions for Janet Evanovich (TIME)

'Dewey' Author Gets Million-Dollar Deal at Dutton (Publishers Weekly)
'Annie' Strip Celebrates Its 85th Birthday (Editor & Publisher)
Senate Confirms Perry Mason Fan (GalleyCat)
Rosenfelt's 'New Tricks' is a mystery lover's treat (USA Today)
August 2009 Mystery Book New Releases (Cozy Mystery List)

Sony to Cut E-Book Prices and Offer New Readers (New York Times)
I'm Going Kindle Crazy (A Writer's Life)
The End of The Critic (A Newbie's Guide to Publishing)
HarperTeen's Amanda Project Web Site Goes Live (Publishers Weekly)

Are Publishers Getting Serious About Authors’ Deadlines (Observer)
Questions about Fiction Proposals (ChipMacGregor.com)
Can Sobriety Change a Writing Career? (GalleyCat)

THE BUZZ The most hits this week at Learning Curve ...

01. 'Twilight' author steals 'Breaking Dawn'?
02. Janet Evanovich brings Alex Barnaby to comics
03. Universal Press merges with Uclick
04. Best Mann: Seriously, the town is small
05. Kenneth Branagh is WALLANDER
06. Publishing news (Aug 1)
07. 2009 Thriller Awards Winners
08. The problem of writing 'when the spirit moves you'
09. Mystery TV Themes: NBC MYSTERY MOVIE
10. MONK final season begins
11. Donald Westlake: Gone, Not Forgotten
12. Crime TV on DVD (Jul 28)
13. Classic comics: BRINGING UP FATHER
14. The return of Charlie Chan
15. Dr. Whodunit
16. Mr. Monk and Season Seven on DVD
17. Best Mann: KA-BOOM (SWIPE FILE: Action Comics #1)
18. T.J. Hooker: "Vengeance is Mine" (Minisode) Special guest: Leonard Nimoy!
19. Three queens of crime (Sue Grafton, Faye Kellerman, and Tess Gerritsen)
20. Mysteries, Models, and Murder! (Marvel's Models, Inc.)

Friday, August 07, 2009

MONK final season begins tonight

From USA Network:

EIGHTH AND FINAL SEASON OF MONK PREMIERES FRIDAY AUGUST 7

Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award winner Tony Shalhoub returns August 7 as the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk in the 8th and final season of the hit comedy series Monk. With 16 brand-new laugh-inducing episodes, the final season promises to be a memorable one for all Monk fans. So tune in to USA Network Friday, August 7 at 9/8C and watch one of the most successful series in basic cable history give its final farewell.

TONIGHT'S EPISODE: When an attempt is made on the life of a former child star who recently published a tell-all biography, Monk is thrilled to act as her bodyguard -- until he learns exactly how different she is from her TV alter ego. Elizabeth Perkins and Rena Sofer guest star in "Mr. Monk's Favorite Show" tonight at 9/8C only on USA Network.

WATCH LAST SEASON'S FINAL FIVE EPISODES ONLINE!

More crime TV news:
Crime TV on DVD (Jul 28)
Mr. Monk and Season Seven on DVD
Shalhoub on MONK: 'Everything does come to an end'
T.J. Hooker: "Terror At The Academy" (Minisode)
T.J. Hooker: "Vengeance is Mine" (Minisode) (Leonard Nimoy!)
'Monk' returns for final season Aug 7
Mr. Monk and the Final Season
Crime TV on DVD (Jun 4)
The next 'Level' of thriller fiction
Kenneth Branagh is WALLANDER

Thursday, August 06, 2009

'Twilight' author steals 'Breaking Dawn'?

Twilight author Stephanie Meyer has been accused of stealing one of her blockbuster vampire stories:

‘Twilight’ Author Accused of Plagiarism (Reuters)
'Twilight' Author Accused of Plagiarism (New York Times)
Meyer faces plagiarism claim (thebookseller.com)
Did Stephenie Meyer Rip Off Breaking Dawn? (E! Online)

Related:
Neil Gaiman: Why vampires should go back underground (EW's Shelf Life)
Adventures in Publishing: 'Twilight' publisher asked the book's editor, 'Are you crazy?' (EW's Shelf Life)

More from the world of publishing:
Publishing news (Aug 1)
The return of Charlie Chan
Janet Evanovich brings Alex Barnaby to comics
Publishing news (July 17)
Mysteries, Models, and Murder!
2009 Thriller Awards Winners
Publishing news (July 10)
Universal Press merges with Uclick
Publishing news: Digital Media Edition! (Jun 26)
The BookScan problem

The problem of writing 'when the spirit moves you'

For writers trying to find the energy to write today (like, for example, me) I'm passing along this helpful pep-talk from Randy Ingermanson's The Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine (reprinted with permission):

Organizing: Writing When the Spirit Moves You

"I write when the spirit moves me," William Faulkner
once said. "And the spirit moves me every day."

What about you? When do you write? What do you do on
the days when you just don't feel like writing? Do you
write anyway, or do you prefer to do your writing only
on days when you know you'll be good?

I've heard from a lot of writers on this, and the
strong impression I've gotten is that most writers,
most days, don't feel like writing. That's as true of
professional novelists as it is of the newest novices.

In fact, it may be more true for the pros. For a novice
writer, writing is a new and exciting hobby -- a way to
have fun during time stolen from boring Real Life.
Whereas writing is a professional writer's job, every
day, every week, every year.

What makes the professional novelist a professional is
the fact that most professionals, most days, write
their word count. It doesn't matter whether they feel
like it or not. They sit in the chair and type their
quota.

Doesn't sound very sexy, does it? Well . . . it isn't.
Writing fiction is a job. You put in the work. Then you
get paid. If you don't put in the work, you don't get
paid.

If that was all there was to it, then of course we'd
all quit this game and go into something more fun and
less risky, such as lion dentistry.

But the fact is that writing fiction is fun. When
you're fully into the flow and the story is pulsing out
of your fingers onto the page, then you barely notice
time whizzing by. That's fun. When the spirit is truly
moving you, it feels like you're flying.

What isn't fun for me is getting ready to write.
Sitting down at the computer isn't fun. Opening up my
word processor isn't fun. Staring at the blank screen
for the first couple of minutes isn't fun. The fun
starts after the first few minutes, when the screen
isn't blank any longer and the voices in my head start
talking.

Here are three things you can do to get past those
first few horrible minutes when writing isn't fun:

* Daydream about what you're going to write before it's
time to write. Do this when you're supposed to be doing
something else. If you have a day job (most writers do,
even most professional novelists), use any down time to
daydream about your story. Some jobs have more down
time than others, but most have at least a few minutes
during the course of the day. Spend that time wishing
you were writing your novel. When you finally get a
chance to write, you'll be primed for it.

* Get a running start by editing what you wrote
yesterday. It's hard to start typing on a blank screen,
but if you quickly read through what you wrote last
time and fix any small glitches, after a few pages your
head will be fully in the game and you'll be itching to
go. DON'T get so caught up in yesterday's work that you
have no time for today's. Save the real editing for
later. Just use this editing time to get the juices
flowing.

* Make sure you're using the creative style that's
right for you. Last month, I talked in this e-zine
about various options you have for creating your first
draft. Some writers work best by writing "seat of the
pants." Others need to take an "edit as you go"
strategy. Others prefer to map out the high level part
of the story in advance, leaving the details to emerge
in the first draft (using a tool like my Snowflake
Method to guide them). Other writers do best when
they've worked out a full, detailed outline up front.
You are who you are. Use whatever creative style is
best geared for your particular brain.

Writers love being creative. I like to think that being
creative is what makes us human, or keeps us human, or
helps us to fake being human. Whatever. We like being
moved by that pesky spirit.

The trick is to regularly show up in a place where the
spirit can move you. Then hang around long enough for
the spirit to get rolling.

What happens after that is the magic of writing.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 16,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Related links:
Endorse this!
For Writers Only: Mad Genius Writer
Three queens of crime
Write fast, edit slow
Crazy enough to write
BRAND VS. VARIETY
The humiliation of revisions
Planning Ahead
"What got you started writing?"

Monday, August 03, 2009

Best Mann: Seriously, the town is small

Best Mann For The Job #24: Our intrepid reporter, sent to Hope Falls to get the real story behind the town's new sheriff, is once again distracted by the town's ... smallness. Meanwhile, the desperate fugitives are coming ever closer! (You have no idea where this story is going.)

As you might have guessed, we introduced a journalist as an excuse to spout a lot of backstory for the benefit of the reader. But with all the crazy bank-robber action to this point, we haven't really had the space.

Best Mann For The Job stars Grace Mann, a woman with a complicated past who returns home to become sheriff of Hope Falls, Tennessee. This serial drama aspires to the style of the classic continuity comic strips, with the crime-bustin' chops of a rural Dick Tracy, the small-town charm of Gasoline Alley, and the emotional touches of The Heart of Juliet Jones. (Or if you prefer, think of it as a cross between T.J. Hooker and Northern Exposure.)

Latest strip exclusive at TitleTrakk.com
Missed an episode? Catch up at StudioWell.com