Newsletter 11/15

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I hope everyone had a great Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 1. In the U.S. we call it All Souls Day, and this holiday never caught on much here for some reason, but it’s big in some countries where people observe the day by visiting cemeteries. This holiday needs a good P.R. firm to sell it to the American public. The church should hire the same firm that made kale a hot item. I mean, if you can sell kale, you can sell the Day of the Dead. Right?

Anyway, as it turns out I spent the Day of the Dead (and Halloween) in Cuba where they don’t celebrate any religious holidays, including Christmas, but where every day is the Day of the Dead. As you know, my next book is set in Cuba which was why I was there, wondering why I didn’t set my next book in Aruba. Cuba is a very unhappy place, but the people were friendly and they were looking forward to the expected influx of American tourists. Little do they know about American tourists.

The good news was that I didn’t see a single Starbucks and no one has heard of kale. But that might all change. Glad I got there now.

I could go on about Cuba for pages, but I’ll save that for my book. Meanwhile, I’m reading Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana which I highly recommend. I’d read it about thirty years ago, but now that I’ve been to Cuba it has more meaning, and considering it was published about six months before Castro took over, it was very prescient.

On the subject of book recommendations, let me also recommend two cookbooks which will be useful for the holidays. The first is Taste of Poetry, put out by the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. I’m an honorary board member there and I wrote a blurb for this interesting and unique collection of poems and recipes.

The second cookbook is The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For. I contributed John Corey’s recipe for Pigs in the Blanket and this alone is worth the price of the book.

Both cookbooks are fun and user-friendly and the proceeds go to supporting the written word.

On Veteran’s Day I had dinner with a group of Vietnam veterans as I do every year. We are not getting any younger, and we can’t remember how many drinks we’ve had. Actually, this has always been a problem and may not be age-related.

In any case, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the men and women who have served and who have sacrificed for this country. I’m glad that a special day is set aside to honor them. My nine-year-old son said to me on November 11, “Thank you for your service, Daddy.” Does it get any better than that? He also said, “And thank you for the day off from school.” Priceless.

And finally, Thanksgiving is almost here. After my eight days in Cuba I have no trouble thinking of things to be thankful for. Turkey is not one of them, but I like Wild Turkey on the rocks. I’m also thankful that I’m free to write what I want to write, say what I want to say, and practice my religion or not practice my religion.

So Happy Thanksgiving. Don’t eat too much, take a pass on the kale, and ditto on the goat cheese.

See you in December.

Newsletter 12/15

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I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and took it easy on the kale. We had a few vegetarians at the table and we served them tofu and bean sprouts, followed by an injection of pumpkin pie.

Anyway, Hanukkah comes early this year, so Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends and the Jewish side of my family. My nine-year-old claims he’s part Jewish and wants a present for each of the nine days of Hanukkah — plus the Twelve Days of Christmas. So I told him about the Christmas Monkey who comes out of the toilet with a monkey wrench on the night after Christmas and smashes all the toys of little boys who try to con their daddies. He backed off on the twenty-one days of presents, but swears he still believes in Santa Claus. Maybe a little goat cheese in his stocking will cure him of that belief. Or maybe I’ll be a softy again and get him everything on his list. I’ll straighten him out next year.

So, what is the perfect gift to give for the Holidays? Books, of course. If you’re like me, you give novels written by authors whose last name starts with the first letter of the month. In December that would be “D”. Fortunately, all my books are in print, and also available as audio books and eBooks. Here’s a list of them — in chronological order of publication: By the Rivers of Babylon, Cathedral,The Talbot Odyssey, Word of Honor, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, The General’s Daughter, Spencerville, Plum Island, The Lion’s Game, Up Country, Night Fall, Wild Fire, The Gate House, The Lion, The Panther, The Quest, and Radiant Angel. And don’t forget Mayday, which I wrote with my childhood friend, Thomas Block. These books will all make terrific gifts or stocking stuffers.

As always, I give everyone permission to sign these books with my name. Write something nice from me, then autograph. A sample of my signature is below.

I’ve gotten literally thousands of emails through my website since the beginning of the year, and again I assure you I read every letter. Unfortunately, I can’t reply to each one, but I wanted to acknowledge receipt and to thank everyone who has taken the time to write. I learn a lot from my fans and I find your suggestions and comments helpful and often uplifting. As an example, a fan wrote, “Your writing is both good and original. Unfortunately, what is good is not original, and what is original is not good.”

Another fan wrote, “I am sitting in the smallest room in my house reading your latest novel. Soon it will be behind me.”

And these were from family members.

Some good news: Sony-TV seems to be moving ahead on making the John Corey novels into a series. We’ve been here before, but this seems real — or as real as anything can be in Hollywood. More on this when I hear.

My son Alex’s screenplay of my novel Spencerville is finished and being sent around to movie studios and producers. Ben Affleck was once interested in playing the lead role of Keith Landry, so Ben, if you’re reading this, have your people call my people. And for those of you who have read Spencerville, let me know if you think Ben is right for the role. The female protagonist is named Annie Prentis, a woman who is married to Spencerville’s police chief, a psychopath named Cliff Baxter. Keith and Annie were high school sweethearts and college lovers, and Keith has recently returned from the Army and he wants Annie back. Cliff wants Keith dead.

Back to Christmas. My nine-year-old has finally figured out that the Elf on the Shelf is a rat fink. The elf now sits bound, gagged, and blindfolded in the popcorn maker awaiting his fate. This, I assured my son, is what happens to rat finks. Just like in daddy’s novels.

On a more uplifting note, I want to wish all my family, friends, publishing colleagues, and readers a holiday season filled with love, joy and wonder. And a New Year of health, happiness and peace on earth. After this year, we deserve all this and more.