BESTSELLERS & BEST FRIENDS
My book publishing blog, with murder mysteries woven through it. Really!
Be sure to start with: "1. Let's do it!"
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BROWSE BY MONTH
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November 2022
- Nov 14, 2022 Unboxing video Nov 14, 2022
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September 2022
- Sep 7, 2022 A bat, a Brallier, a book Sep 7, 2022
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August 2022
- Aug 17, 2022 I went for a random walk Aug 17, 2022
- Aug 10, 2022 The Flip Side of Harper Avenue Aug 10, 2022
- Aug 4, 2022 Essential Timeline of the Troubadour Nightclub Aug 4, 2022
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July 2022
- Jul 19, 2022 Robert Parker. And my favorite author. And an upcoming author. Jul 19, 2022
- Jul 5, 2022 Very cool, then very depressing Jul 5, 2022
- Jul 4, 2022 I went wandering Jul 4, 2022
- Jul 1, 2022 Highland Gardens Hotel Jul 1, 2022
- Jul 1, 2022 Jul 1, 2022
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June 2022
- Jun 22, 2022 The Tropicana Motel Jun 22, 2022
- Jun 20, 2022 Father’s Day Jun 20, 2022
- Jun 17, 2022 The Steep Price of Stardom Jun 17, 2022
- Jun 16, 2022 The Garden of Allah Hotel Jun 16, 2022
- Jun 16, 2022 I walked over to some dirt and then—holy crap! Jun 16, 2022
- Jun 10, 2022 I went for a walk, then stopped and smelled the roses Jun 10, 2022
- Jun 7, 2022 Los Angeles and Dorothy Parker Jun 7, 2022
- Jun 3, 2022 123. Goodbye and so much for this blog Jun 3, 2022
- Jun 2, 2022 122. My bartender and my decision Jun 2, 2022
- Jun 1, 2022 121: Maybe and maybe not Jun 1, 2022
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May 2022
- May 31, 2022 120. Aaron and I meet continued May 31, 2022
- May 30, 2022 119. I meet with Aaron May 30, 2022
- May 26, 2022 118. I am a very lucky father May 26, 2022
- May 25, 2022 117: Editor joke, Gustave Flaubert’s comma, and why I don’t have a beach house May 25, 2022
- May 24, 2022 116. The writing of Tess’s Tree May 24, 2022
- May 23, 2022 115. I may have messed up May 23, 2022
- May 19, 2022 114. Book dedications May 19, 2022
- May 18, 2022 113. Teena update May 18, 2022
- May 17, 2022 112. Teena and Quotes to Smoke May 17, 2022
- May 16, 2022 111. Hidden authors May 16, 2022
- May 12, 2022 109. Wild Bill and wild times! May 12, 2022
- May 10, 2022 108. Tarrytown May 10, 2022
- May 9, 2022 107. Erle Stanley Gardner and more May 9, 2022
- May 8, 2022 106. Lajos Antal May 8, 2022
- May 6, 2022 105. I visit Dorothy Parker May 6, 2022
- May 5, 2022 104. The Algonquin Round Table May 5, 2022
- May 4, 2022 103. My new Robert Parker May 4, 2022
- May 3, 2022 102. So much for the new blog idea May 3, 2022
- May 1, 2022 101. That damn Roscoe Franks May 1, 2022
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April 2022
- Apr 30, 2022 100. The best book publishing I ever did Apr 30, 2022
- Apr 29, 2022 99. Helpful Marketing Hint (piss off L.L. Bean) Apr 29, 2022
- Apr 27, 2022 98. T. Berry Brazelton and the joy of an unexpected bestseller Apr 27, 2022
- Apr 25, 2022 97. It’s Roscoe Franks Apr 25, 2022
- Apr 24, 2022 96. My blog is wow Apr 24, 2022
- Apr 23, 2022 95. My hair and a chair and the Queen Elizabeth II Centre Apr 23, 2022
- Apr 22, 2022 94. Back to the Police Apr 22, 2022
- Apr 19, 2022 92. All I wanted to do Apr 19, 2022
- Apr 18, 2022 91. Boston and a final farewell to Randy Apr 18, 2022
- Apr 17, 2022 90. Dan called me Apr 17, 2022
- Apr 15, 2022 89. I swing by Hoboken Apr 15, 2022
- Apr 13, 2022 88. The police Apr 13, 2022
- Apr 12, 2022 87. Getting ready for Boston and the spreading of Randy’s ashes Apr 12, 2022
- Apr 11, 2022 86. Speaking of drinking and smoking and wanting to get back to blogging about publishing Apr 11, 2022
- Apr 9, 2022 85. Hot dogs and bestsellers and I’m again accused of murder Apr 9, 2022
- Apr 7, 2022 84. The real making of Love Story Apr 7, 2022
- Apr 5, 2022 83. Spy magazine, Tammy Faye Baker, and I’m accused of murder Apr 5, 2022
- Apr 4, 2022 82. The BEST thing about being in book publishing Apr 4, 2022
- Apr 3, 2022 81. The WORST thing about being in book publishing Apr 3, 2022
- Apr 2, 2022 80. Staying out of harm’s way Apr 2, 2022
- Apr 1, 2022 79. Wrapping up the Tim Cory stuff, sadly Apr 1, 2022
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March 2022
- Mar 27, 2022 78. Pat Picciarelli Mar 27, 2022
- Mar 26, 2022 77. Princeton's Tim Cory Mar 26, 2022
- Mar 25, 2022 76. Sally's out of town Mar 25, 2022
- Mar 24, 2022 75. Another tough day, so another walk Mar 24, 2022
- Mar 23, 2022 74. A "Dear Jess" note Mar 23, 2022
- Mar 22, 2022 73. The Fatal Manuscript, again Mar 22, 2022
- Mar 21, 2022 72. I go for a walk Mar 21, 2022
- Mar 20, 2022 71. The fatal manuscript Mar 20, 2022
- Mar 19, 2022 70. Five windows vs. six windows Mar 19, 2022
- Mar 18, 2022 69. Charlie Watts, Regis, Kathie Lee, and me Mar 18, 2022
- Mar 17, 2022 68. Randy’s loft Mar 17, 2022
- Mar 16, 2022 67. The mini-bar and me Mar 16, 2022
- Mar 15, 2022 66. The day after Mar 15, 2022
- Mar 14, 2022 65. Hold on! Maybe forever. Mar 14, 2022
- Mar 13, 2022 64. One day at lunch Mar 13, 2022
- Mar 12, 2022 63. The murder of Gen Grau Mar 12, 2022
- Mar 11, 2022 62. Books bound-on-the-right-for-left-handed readers Mar 11, 2022
- Mar 10, 2022 61. Curtis Vouwie and Randy House Mar 10, 2022
- Mar 9, 2022 60. Ogden Nash Mar 9, 2022
- Mar 8, 2022 59. The End Mar 8, 2022
- Mar 7, 2022 58. The Agatha Christie-ish reveal Mar 7, 2022
- Mar 6, 2022 57. Three women are at a bar Mar 6, 2022
- Mar 5, 2022 56. Grossology Mar 5, 2022
- Mar 4, 2022 55. Thinking about motive Mar 4, 2022
- Mar 3, 2022 54. Jury duty Mar 3, 2022
- Mar 2, 2022 53. Robert Parker, Stephen King, and me Mar 2, 2022
- Mar 1, 2022 52. I'm back at it! Mar 1, 2022
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February 2022
- Feb 28, 2022 51. I'm thinking (frightening!) Feb 28, 2022
- Feb 27, 2022 50. I’ve been low before, and turned to making a book Feb 27, 2022
- Feb 26, 2022 49. Killer Doyle is NOT in custody and I’m horribly hung over Feb 26, 2022
- Feb 25, 2022 48. Vanessa calls, Jim calls, and I've just about got this one solved! Feb 25, 2022
- Feb 24, 2022 47. Blue Highways, a wonderfully unexpected bestseller Feb 24, 2022
- Feb 23, 2022 46. I talk with Vanessa and pretend to be a private eye (losing my mind!) Feb 23, 2022
- Feb 22, 2022 45. Book publishing’s last true gentleman Feb 22, 2022
- Feb 21, 2022 44. My innocent son and the dark underbelly of publishing Feb 21, 2022
- Feb 18, 2022 43. Doyle must be reading this blog! Feb 18, 2022
- Feb 17, 2022 42. I don’t know! Who's killing who and why? Feb 17, 2022
- Feb 16, 2022 41. Three guys are sitting at a bar. Feb 16, 2022
- Feb 15, 2022 40. Laurie’s Murder Feb 15, 2022
- Feb 14, 2022 39. Hold on! Things get very ugly in Ligonier Feb 14, 2022
- Feb 13, 2022 38. Back to Ligonier Feb 13, 2022
- Feb 12, 2022 37. I shift careers. To technology. Feb 12, 2022
- Feb 11, 2022 36. One more old white guy – James Doyle Feb 11, 2022
- Feb 10, 2022 35. Lunch, and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Feb 10, 2022
- Feb 9, 2022 34. Road Trip! Feb 9, 2022
- Feb 8, 2022 33. Reassuring Herman Wouk Feb 8, 2022
- Feb 7, 2022 32. Norman Mailer and me Feb 7, 2022
- Feb 6, 2022 31. Saying good-bye, for real Feb 6, 2022
- Feb 5, 2022 30. Joey’s book Feb 5, 2022
- Feb 4, 2022 29. Good old book publishing! Feb 4, 2022
- Feb 3, 2022 28. The good old Fourth Estate Feb 3, 2022
- Feb 2, 2022 27. It’s time to go to the police Feb 2, 2022
- Feb 1, 2022 26. The Steelers license plate Feb 1, 2022
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January 2022
- Jan 31, 2022 25. I call Ligonier Police Chief Jim Jan 31, 2022
- Jan 30, 2022 24. Joey and Spanky the dead dog Jan 30, 2022
- Jan 29, 2022 23. Riding the rails (continued) Jan 29, 2022
- Jan 28, 2022 22. Riding the rails! Jan 28, 2022
- Jan 27, 2022 21. Ligonier webcam — surprise, surprise! Jan 27, 2022
- Jan 26, 2022 20. The Ligonier Writers Conference (and that webcam) Jan 26, 2022
- Jan 25, 2022 19. Saying good-bye Jan 25, 2022
- Jan 24, 2022 18. Let’s try this again — Robert Parker, his dog Pearl, Freeman, and me Jan 24, 2022
- Jan 23, 2022 17. Robert Parker, his dog Pearl, Freeman, and me Jan 23, 2022
- Jan 22, 2022 16. Crisis Management – Round Two Jan 22, 2022
- Jan 21, 2022 15. My favorite agent joke Jan 21, 2022
- Jan 20, 2022 14. Hold on! Heinz is killed! Jan 20, 2022
- Jan 19, 2022 13. What the hell did I just see? Jan 19, 2022
- Jan 18, 2022 12. A Writer Writing a Joke about Writers Jan 18, 2022
- Jan 17, 2022 11. Death and book publishing Jan 17, 2022
- Jan 16, 2022 10. Getting a book publisher Jan 16, 2022
- Jan 15, 2022 9. I’m asked to write a book Jan 15, 2022
- Jan 14, 2022 8. It should have been Freeman’s book Jan 14, 2022
- Jan 13, 2022 7. How to be a little shit and make a bestseller Jan 13, 2022
- Jan 12, 2022 6. Crisis Management Jan 12, 2022
- Jan 11, 2022 5. New Hampshire, hotel bars, and a bestseller Jan 11, 2022
- Jan 10, 2022 4. Matt and I end up in Boston Jan 10, 2022
- Jan 9, 2022 3. So many writers! Jan 9, 2022
- Jan 8, 2022 2. Pool tables, puppy love, and I end up being a writer Jan 8, 2022
- Jan 7, 2022 1. Let’s do it! Jan 7, 2022