Random Thoughts

Who will win the Quantity in Publishing Award this year. Certainly not Clive Cussler with only 2 hardcovers scheduled this year or W.E.B. Griffin, who this year will have paltry 3 new hardcovers out. Nope, not even close. James Patterson plans to have 7 new titles in print by year's end. He can write them faster than I can read them. He's less a brand name and more a major industry ... like Velveeta or Cheezwhiz or some other dairy product. (I think this weekend's Strolling of the Heifers is beginning to take its toll.)

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Bill O'Reilly's memior will be released Sept. 23. It's called A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity. At the end, do we find out it's a cookbook? (Shades of The Twilight Zone.)

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Random House will be publishing P.D. James' new Dalgleish mystery The Private Patient on Nov. 18. Meanwhile, those in Great Britain will have access to it in September. Bummer. But it's been three years since The Lighthouse, so we should be able to tough it out a couple of extra months, although I don't know why we should have to.

Writer Duane Swierczynski, author of the comically violent Severance Package, has a new hardcover out from Quirk. It's titled Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor and the author and the publisher have a history together with The Crimes of Dr. Watson. Like the latter, Batman is "interactive" and contains a party invitation, newspaper, map of Wayne Manor and more. Illustrations are by David Lapham (Stray Bullets) and it'd be a great Father's Day gift for the kid in your dad. (Hint. Hint.)

Earlier this week the Crime Writers Association announced its 2008 Dagger Award nominees. Since the list is comprehensive and you really should visit this organization's site occasionally, you'll have to click on the link below to find out who the nominees are. Winners will be announce July 10 at the Four Season Hotel in Park Lane, London. Oh to be there. (Spoiler: Sue Grafton will be presented the Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence.)
Go to:
www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2008/index.html

Note: Random Thoughts is not a subsidiary of Random House or its affiliates. They are just...well, random thoughts.