It's been a busy time, and I've got book and movie news to share.
The latest: My 2005 crime novel BANK JOB has been optioned once again for film/TV development. The filmmaker is the same one who turned my novel LONELY STREET into a 2009 movie, and he's got big plans for BANK JOB.
Other filmmakers are looking at a couple of my 30 published books for possible development here in New Mexico. Too soon to talk about details, but please keep your fingers crossed for me.
Over the past two months, I wrote the first draft of my next crime novel, COLD CUTS. It's a funny story about people smuggling bologna across the Mexican border. No, really. Lots of revision to come, but I like this one a lot.
I continue to promote last June's novel, SIDE EYE, which has received some nice reviews. SIDE EYE features the youngest protagonist I've ever written -- an 18-year-old orphan named Josh Nieto.
Helping me with that youthful perspective are the classes I teach at Honors College at the University of New Mexico. I spend several hours a week with bright young people. It's enough to give you hope for the future.
I just learned that one of my former publishers (which still has some of my backlist in print) is filing for bankruptcy. I don't know yet what that means for those books, but I hope to get the rights back and republish them as trade paperbacks, so they stay available in print.
All of my books remain available on Kindle.
The other reason 2017 has been so busy for me is that I helped my parents move into an assisted-living facility in Arkansas, where they live. I've been back there four times this year already, and plan to go again in December. Those time-eating trips (and my increasing animosity toward air travel) are the reason I haven't been to any of the mystery conferences lately. Many of my friends are at Bouchercon in Toronto this week, and I hope they're having a great time. But I'm happy to sit still for the moment.
Happy reading!
