Apple Seeds - August 2005
Sandy Pauly, Owner
How about that! Vince Flynn: As a beginning writer, peddling his self-published book at the airport, our Minnesota author is #5 with the latest paperback, Memorial Day. In October, Flynn will tour for his new hardcover, Consent to Kill, while consulting for Fox TV’s series 24.
Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons, is at #4 after 118 weeks on the paperback bestseller list. His Deception Point (#9) and Digital Fortress (#11) remain on the list of 15.
Patricia Cornwell: Trace was #1 for mass market paperback bestsellers on August 1.
Janet Evanovich (Ten Big Ones at #10) has Eleven on Top showing up as #2 on the Audio Bestsellers list and at #7 for Hardcovers.
Nice paged interview in The Writer magazine with author/newspaper columnist, Jacqueline Mitchard. She writes and talks like a human. She has 6 kids, so you can be sure she’s “been there/done that”.
“The Writer” magazine for September (I got it in August) has “25 Best Web Sites For Writers” and it’s a great article. You can find sites for almost everything from resources to…well, you name it, it’s there. Author Steve Cross also suggests the best of the best: refdesk.com. I opened it and, WOW. Anyone looking for some sort of information will be surprised at what is on this amazing site.
Released last month: Premium format paperbacks (similar to taller trade-size) with a larger type-set are novels by Barbara Delinsky (The Summer I Dared) and Maeve Binchy (Nights of Rain and Stars).
Scholastic paid a $710,000 civil penalty to the Federal Trade Commission for its telemarketing practices of certain negative option sales pitches. Oops.
Did you know? E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web has reached the 14 million mark in sales since the publish date of 1952. And—did you know that White is the reader of the unabridged Listening Library audio?
For kids: Caroline Kennedy’s “A Family of Poems, My Favorite Poetry for Children” and “The Cow in Apple Time” by Robert Frost—about a headstrong Holstein—illustrated by Dean Yeagle.
$2.99 paperbacks. Hot Shots, by Penguin (Berkley) will feature smaller books by best-selling authors, with the short stories culled from prior anthologies. The one-print run of these books may continue with others. If these cheaper reprints prove successful, they may publish new short novels for the same price.
Jerry Lewis’ “Dean & Me: A Love Story” will be on bookstore shelves in October.
Jack Higgins (who knew he published all those books?) will have his 71st out this month— “Without Mercy”. Oh, yeah, his Dark Justice will also be in paperback at the same time.
John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Road” is now a picture book.
Kay Hooper’s psychic novels have been winners with both men and women. “Fear” is in print, the first of her newest trilogy.
Thickest books? Phone books.
We did it. We bought a portable air conditioner, the one with a hose thingie to stick in a slider window. Stopping at a well-known “home” store, which shall remain nameless, we were told they no longer had ACs—the season is over. Where does their CEO live???
Mariah Stewart: Her Dead Wrong, Dead Certain & Dead Even ended with hardcover, Dead End. Hardcover?
I?I HQN That’s a new logo and imprint for specific Harlequin novels. These books, written on the order of “regular” romance novels, include western historicals, regencies, romantic suspense, etc., and are of the same size as usual romances. Some are even in hardcover.
Still can’t get over Romantic Times BookClub Magazine calling Romantic Fantasy “New Reality”. (Time travels, romantic vampire stories, as well as angels, werewolves, etc.)
The new listings for Science Fiction include a lot of hardcovers and e-books. If you’re a Sci-Fi reader, please fill us in on some authors/books, as that is a genre that neither Sharon nor I read—even tho I watch a lot of it on TV. (I do NOT like the bug things, but watch space shows, and like ESP stuff.)
Just finished a new Alex Kava novel, and reported to the store with bloodshot eyes after quickly finishing J.D. Robb’s newest hardcover. Do you ever white-knuckle a book and read faster and faster when the action is terrifying & frantic? Whew.
Eighty-year old Art Buchwold, still writing a column twice a week, claims since his stroke four years ago his brain is working better—and his doctor says it's possible! No thanks, I kind of like my putter-around brain without a stroke.
Those of us who remember Debbie Macomber’s 4-book series “Midnight Sons” (Hard Luck, Alaska) and want to read them again, will find them in her two-book series of Mail-Order Marriages.
Note to Prof. Bill: Hope you continue as a non-paid book critic after closing your store. 4½ Romantic Suspense by Karen Rose is “Nothing To Fear”, and Ashley Gardner’s Regency Series latest is The Sudbury School Murders. These two are in paperback, but other new Suspense/Thrillers by female authors receiving the 4½ rating are hardcovers:
Tess Gerritsen, Vanish
Sandra Brown, Chill Factor
Perri O’Shaughnessy, Case of Lies
We are working very hard on our new website. It’s almost ready, maybe by next month. Watch for www.littleapplebookstore.com. We’ll have the newsletter, how-to figure credits, & more.
Mr. P is canning and freezing and jelly-making. He even made pickles this year. I just eat.
Ridley Pearson: Main series about Lou Boldt & Daphne Matthews, 5 (or so) non-series books, 3 mysteries written as Wendell McCall, and “Peter and the Starcatchers” written with Dave Barry—a “prequel” to Peter Pan.
The Pearson’s newly-adopted daughter is named Storey. Cute, huh?
Oh, yes: The Rockbottom Remainders is a rock band composed of Stephen King, Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Roy Blount, Jr., Greil Marcus and Matt Groening. Original members also included (occasionally) Barbara Kingsolver and the late Michael Dorris. The band’s label: Don’t Quit Your Day Jobs Records.
Another neat ad for Lemony Snicket. Investigate the title of the next book at www.thenamelessnovel.com.
Grabbing the teens: Random House used text messaging to promote the paperback edition of Ann Brashares’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Girls in Pants.
Congrats & blessings to Tara & Steve for giving us another great-grandchild, Andrew Michael.
Bye for now……… |
