Catherine Coulter's Blog: I'm Baaaack!, page 106
August 18, 2015
Aug. 18, 2015
Tuesday, 18th of August: GUESS WHAT? My protege (I guess you could call him that) WON for the second year in a row the JUNIOR NATIONAL MEN'S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIP! -- That's right -- 1st place. He called me Sunday night from Indianapolis, very happy indeed, a little in shock too. His best event? Rings -- he's absolutely amazing on the rings -- grace in motion and he makes it look so easy and fluid. This means he'll be competing internationally. I am so very proud of him, so very happy for him and his coach, Viorel Popescu. If you type this in on YouTube you might see some of his events. I'm not sure because I haven't had a chance to look just yet, problems with the internet. Big congratulations to Kiwan!
I got a crazy idea about one of the two plots in INSIDIOUS -- now I've got to see if I can make it work -- I think 'wouldn't it be nice to get these crazy ideas at the beginning so I didn't have to rewrite so much?' After 75 books, I guess the answer is no, suck it up, deal with it, these are the plot cards you were dealt. Shut up. Okay.
I got a crazy idea about one of the two plots in INSIDIOUS -- now I've got to see if I can make it work -- I think 'wouldn't it be nice to get these crazy ideas at the beginning so I didn't have to rewrite so much?' After 75 books, I guess the answer is no, suck it up, deal with it, these are the plot cards you were dealt. Shut up. Okay.
August 12, 2015
August 12, 2015
Yummy 12th of August -- Lunch today with two brilliant social media people from New York's Trident Media Group (my agent's company) -- they were responsible for The Strange Visitation at Wolffe Hall novella from beginning to publication and all the posts here on Facebook and just about everything else, including buying me a Diet Coke (with about 5 lemon wedges to squeeze in to kill the taste) Can't wait to see Nicole and Alicia.
J.T. and I got a tremendous amount of work done yesterday including the Eplogue for the 4th Nicholas Drummond thriller -- everything is falling right into place, but you know? It's exhausting, and our brains began to leak out of our ears and so to get everything revved again, we spent an hour at Anthropologie -- It worked to completely change focus, plus we each got a couple of pretty goodies. We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark (Yep, research, but for what, you ask? Not yet, not yet, but you can guess).
J.T. and I got a tremendous amount of work done yesterday including the Eplogue for the 4th Nicholas Drummond thriller -- everything is falling right into place, but you know? It's exhausting, and our brains began to leak out of our ears and so to get everything revved again, we spent an hour at Anthropologie -- It worked to completely change focus, plus we each got a couple of pretty goodies. We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark (Yep, research, but for what, you ask? Not yet, not yet, but you can guess).
July 24, 2015
July 24, 2015
24th July, FRIDAY -- yet again. It's always Friday, at least every other day is Friday, or maybe Friday gets in there and snags the third day. Why is this? Not that I'm complaining since Saturday means sleeping in until Eli (20 pounds) takes a flying leap and lands on whatever part of me is in his path, or Cleo sits on my chest and purrs and pats my face or Peyton gives me an occasional bite, and paces, meowing his head off.
Our wonderful company leave today -- what fun -- they spent a couple of days down in Carmel and Monterey -- food, shopping, beach, food, beach, food, shopping -- you get the idea. And so many excursions up here in the San Francisco area, yesterday Stinson Beach and Point Reyes. Showed them three Jim Gaffigan shows -- he's a stand-up comedian -- and is the very best I've ever seen. Very very funny and yes, it's not just me, they were laughing their heads off. If you've never heard of him or seen him, look him up on Netflix or Amazon -- Prepare to laugh your socks off. Of course when you read NEMESIS, your socks were already knocked off, so you can only laugh them off if you've found them after finishing the book.
Lots of work today -- mainly editing what I've already done (don't you just hate it when you write a crappy scene that doesn't do much of anything except form words on a page? -- It's a family scene and you know one of these people is EVIL, or not.
Our wonderful company leave today -- what fun -- they spent a couple of days down in Carmel and Monterey -- food, shopping, beach, food, beach, food, shopping -- you get the idea. And so many excursions up here in the San Francisco area, yesterday Stinson Beach and Point Reyes. Showed them three Jim Gaffigan shows -- he's a stand-up comedian -- and is the very best I've ever seen. Very very funny and yes, it's not just me, they were laughing their heads off. If you've never heard of him or seen him, look him up on Netflix or Amazon -- Prepare to laugh your socks off. Of course when you read NEMESIS, your socks were already knocked off, so you can only laugh them off if you've found them after finishing the book.
Lots of work today -- mainly editing what I've already done (don't you just hate it when you write a crappy scene that doesn't do much of anything except form words on a page? -- It's a family scene and you know one of these people is EVIL, or not.
July 23, 2015
July 23, 2015
Incredible Thursday, the 23rd of July -- The newsletter is going out today. If you don't get it by Saturday, email me at ReadMoi@gmail.com -- it probably means your server is shucking it out with the spam. I'll email you a copy.
Who has heard the audio of Nemesis? The readers are MacCleod Andrews (his talent is amazing -- in the Nicholas Drummond books, THE LOST KEY and THE FINAL CUT, he did American, Brit, Scottish, French, Italian and German characters-- very believably. And Renee Raudman is equally talented, plus she's gorgeous -- As for MacCleod, he ain't bad either --
Today is work, work, work -- it never ends, does it? We all do what we do to feed the cats and the kiddos and buy my books -- sounds good to me.
Who has heard the audio of Nemesis? The readers are MacCleod Andrews (his talent is amazing -- in the Nicholas Drummond books, THE LOST KEY and THE FINAL CUT, he did American, Brit, Scottish, French, Italian and German characters-- very believably. And Renee Raudman is equally talented, plus she's gorgeous -- As for MacCleod, he ain't bad either --
Today is work, work, work -- it never ends, does it? We all do what we do to feed the cats and the kiddos and buy my books -- sounds good to me.
July 21, 2015
July 21, 2015
21st July, a lovely Tuesday: Do you know why I have stuff about Waterloo? In the Strange Visitation at Wolffe Hall, (set in 1841), I have something odd that goes back to Waterloo on June 15th, 1815. It concerns the 40,000 medals that were impressed with each soldier's name. Wellington pushed this through in 1817. This was the first time that soldiers got medals -- until Waterloo, only officers received medals. So this was a huge deal. Today there are thousands of Waterloo medals in families who had an ancestor who fought in one of the three battles and, of course, in hundreds of collections around the world. And this was the two hundred year anniversary. -- So what's so important and weird about the medals, you ask? You'll see in the Novella --
Back to work on the 20th FBI -- Hope I get a title this week -- I'll let you know.
Back to work on the 20th FBI -- Hope I get a title this week -- I'll let you know.
July 14, 2015
July 14, 2015
Wow, what a way to begin a morning!!! A zillion emails to get to, folk to talk to in New York, a phone interview about Nemesis, so many new things (business) to consider. Back to you guys now. It's Tuesday, the 14th -- good grief, it's also Bastille Day! -- what else do we celebrate? Up to my eyebrows in galleys of THE END GAME, due back on Friday. Do you know, I think it's pretty good -- well, maybe it could be considered close to excellent -- maybe it's not too far a stretch to say it's REMARKABLE -- you'll have to judge for yourself. But yeah, I like remarkable, maybe superific.
Power Play paperback came in at #7 on NY Times bestseller list, and #5 on the Publisher's Weekly -- I'll find out tomorrow about both Power Play and Nemesis -- all digits crossed -- I really like your feedback on both books, mostly on NEMESIS, though -- so let me know what you think -
Power Play paperback came in at #7 on NY Times bestseller list, and #5 on the Publisher's Weekly -- I'll find out tomorrow about both Power Play and Nemesis -- all digits crossed -- I really like your feedback on both books, mostly on NEMESIS, though -- so let me know what you think -
July 3, 2015
July 3, 2015
It's FRIDAY yet again, the end of a week that surely sped faster than the cars on a NASCAR track -- The 3rd, day before the 4TH! and fun and fireworks and celebration of our nation's anniversary.
Okay, the little green gingerbread-looking figure below -- this is a Wiccan poppet -- First rule of Wicca is to do no harm -- the poppet (handmade) isn't used to cast a spell, for example, on the Cowboys and make them lose (alas), or to make a person break out with acne. You'll find out all about Wicca and poppets in NEMESIS -- This one below: I'm with you, I don't like the pin through the red heart, should have been sewn, but it is benign --
I'll be on and off the grid all next week -- Nashville then New York, home next Sunday -- so my communications might be spotty. I'll do my best, sending you photos, telling you what's going on.
Who has heard of Ingram's? I'm visiting with them in Nashville, then staying in NY, a signing at the Mysterious Book Store -- for all details, go to CatherineCoulter.com -- Thrillerfest is at the Grand Hyatt-- lunch and dinner with publisher and agent, seeing writers I haven't seen in a long time -- all in all, it should be lots of fun. I'll be doing some panels, but mainly, seeing writers, chatting, comparing notes and lives --
Okay, the little green gingerbread-looking figure below -- this is a Wiccan poppet -- First rule of Wicca is to do no harm -- the poppet (handmade) isn't used to cast a spell, for example, on the Cowboys and make them lose (alas), or to make a person break out with acne. You'll find out all about Wicca and poppets in NEMESIS -- This one below: I'm with you, I don't like the pin through the red heart, should have been sewn, but it is benign --
I'll be on and off the grid all next week -- Nashville then New York, home next Sunday -- so my communications might be spotty. I'll do my best, sending you photos, telling you what's going on.
Who has heard of Ingram's? I'm visiting with them in Nashville, then staying in NY, a signing at the Mysterious Book Store -- for all details, go to CatherineCoulter.com -- Thrillerfest is at the Grand Hyatt-- lunch and dinner with publisher and agent, seeing writers I haven't seen in a long time -- all in all, it should be lots of fun. I'll be doing some panels, but mainly, seeing writers, chatting, comparing notes and lives --
July 2, 2015
July 2, 2015
2nd of July, Thursday -- moving on up to the 4th -- and what fun you're going to have -- so begin making your plans right this minute, something fun with lots of food involved and kids and more food and lots and lots of laughter and smiles, more food, and don't forget the fireworks, okay? Let me know what you're going to do.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Here's a treat for you. J.T. Ellison appears inn this wonderful anthology -- KILLER YEAR -- first published in 2007 -- all debut authors. Plus it's in audio. So if you missed it back in the day, get it and dive in and wallow.
Lisa asked me who decides on book covers and on the author's name on the front (not who, but how the name looks, and the color). This is different in every publishing house and depends as well on the status of the author. In my case, I've also been very lucky, always had input (well, almost always). If I have an idea for a cover, they will usually try it or say that sucks and won't work for this or that reason. Then we talk and they try something. If I like it, then we "tweak" it until all of us are happy.
For NEMESIS, the art director, Rich, came up with this design, (I never had any ideas )-- so it's all him. I was blown away when they sent me a mock-up. I didn't ask for a single tweak. I think it's one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. So thank you, Rich! As for how my name appears on the cover, the art department coordinates the color of the name with the colors used in the artwork. Sometime this changes, but not often..
POWER PLAY, paperback, is doing very well. If you haven't gotten the birthday copy for your aunt Samantha, do it, and if you have time, send it to me and I'll sign it to Samantha.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Here's a treat for you. J.T. Ellison appears inn this wonderful anthology -- KILLER YEAR -- first published in 2007 -- all debut authors. Plus it's in audio. So if you missed it back in the day, get it and dive in and wallow.
Lisa asked me who decides on book covers and on the author's name on the front (not who, but how the name looks, and the color). This is different in every publishing house and depends as well on the status of the author. In my case, I've also been very lucky, always had input (well, almost always). If I have an idea for a cover, they will usually try it or say that sucks and won't work for this or that reason. Then we talk and they try something. If I like it, then we "tweak" it until all of us are happy.
For NEMESIS, the art director, Rich, came up with this design, (I never had any ideas )-- so it's all him. I was blown away when they sent me a mock-up. I didn't ask for a single tweak. I think it's one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. So thank you, Rich! As for how my name appears on the cover, the art department coordinates the color of the name with the colors used in the artwork. Sometime this changes, but not often..
POWER PLAY, paperback, is doing very well. If you haven't gotten the birthday copy for your aunt Samantha, do it, and if you have time, send it to me and I'll sign it to Samantha.
July 1, 2015
July 1, 2015
HUGE nearly GIGANTIC 1st of JULY -- Wednesday --
I wanted to thank the reader who told me about NEMESIS being the COSTCO staff fiction pick this month. J.T. Ellison sent me a copy of the page -- it is very very cool. ]
NEMESIS has a gorgeous cover, so even though you normally read ebooks, trip into COSTCO and get your copy there, they're really a good deal. And don't forget,, NEXT TUESDAY, the 7th Nemesis is waiting to leap off the shelf and into your arms.
Still waiting to hear if the Publisher goes for ANATHEMA as the title for the 20th FBI, for next year -- It's growing on me -- each morning when I call up the file, there it is on the title page and I get a little frisson -- yeah, I like it. Like Nemesis, it's more unique than not.
Talk about unique: see Inside Out, sure a cartoon, but utterly completely unlike any movie you've ever seen -- well done.
I wanted to thank the reader who told me about NEMESIS being the COSTCO staff fiction pick this month. J.T. Ellison sent me a copy of the page -- it is very very cool. ]
NEMESIS has a gorgeous cover, so even though you normally read ebooks, trip into COSTCO and get your copy there, they're really a good deal. And don't forget,, NEXT TUESDAY, the 7th Nemesis is waiting to leap off the shelf and into your arms.
Still waiting to hear if the Publisher goes for ANATHEMA as the title for the 20th FBI, for next year -- It's growing on me -- each morning when I call up the file, there it is on the title page and I get a little frisson -- yeah, I like it. Like Nemesis, it's more unique than not.
Talk about unique: see Inside Out, sure a cartoon, but utterly completely unlike any movie you've ever seen -- well done.
June 30, 2015
June 30, 2015
Don't forget, POWER PLAY in paperback is OUT TODAY -- now, if you missed the hardcover for whatever reason, it's your time to dive in. So enjoy Power Play and let me know what you think (but only if it's really good, okay? I'm not a masochist)
An excellent piece of news: COSTCO selected NEMESIS as their staff pick for July -- is that not cool?
An excellent piece of news: COSTCO selected NEMESIS as their staff pick for July -- is that not cool?
I'm Baaaack!
Halloween's coming up fast, the day the zombies burst out of the ground and terrify the crap out of us, not to mention eat our candy and eat our brains.
Update on BOMBSHELL, the 17th FBI Thriller: I' ...more
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