Mr. Monk and the Finished Manuscript

It's 10:07 pm here in Los Angeles and I just finished writing my sixth MONK novel, MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY. This means I will be delivering my book to my publisher two weeks early, which will buy me a little time to relax before plunging into the outline for my seventh MONK novel.

MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY will be out in hardcover in June to coincide with the summer season premiere of the TV series.

My fifth MONK novel, MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE, comes out in hardcover later this week...which is a bit of an experiment, since this will be the first MONK book release that doesn't coincide with a MONK season premiere. It will be interesting to see how the book fares without the benefit of the promotion that accompanies the TV show (but my fourth MONK novel, MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS, comes out in paperback in January, when the new episodes of MONK return).

To The Max

IAMTW co-founder Max Allan Collins optioned his graphic novel JOHNNY DYNAMITE to Dick Wolf Productions for a new TV series. And in more good news for Max, Publishers Weekly has given his new book, DEADLY BELOVED, a rave review. They say, in part: "Collins skillfully ties up a multitude of branches into a big bloody bouquet one would expect from the author of THE ROAD TO PERDITION. Sharp and satisfying, this is another must-have for fans of the Hard Case Crime imprint."

DOUBLE THE FUN

There appear to be two tie-in novels on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction best-seller list for 10/7/07.

Jonathan's Story (by Julia London and I) at #7, a tie-in to the daytime soap, Guiding Light; and Dexter in the Dark at #11, a tie-in to the returning cable drama, Dexter.

If you want to stretch a point, you can even consider #9, Bones to Ashes a sort of tie-in, though, in this case, the forensic book series predates the TV series, Bones.

ALINA ADAMS