Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

It’s been a while, but publishing has also been slow now that we’re in the doldrums of summer. Here are the latest deals.

This series has been selling like hotcakes. It keeps dropping off the USAT list only to pop on again the next week.
NYT bestselling authors PC Cast and Kristin Cast’s HOUSE OF NIGHT series, set in the school where young “marked” students train to become adult vampires, to Michael Birnbaum at Empire Pictures (JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE, BANDITS), by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Meredith Bernstein at the Meredith Bernstein Literary Agency.

The James Patterson machine cranks out another money-maker.
James Patterson’s YA series MAXIMUM RIDE, to Columbia Pictures, with Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul at Seaside Entertainment (Iron Man) producing, along with Steve Bowen and Leopoldo Gout at James Patterson Entertainment, and Don Payne (Fantastic Four) adapting.

12 huge books in the series. Surely they won’t all be crammed into one movie.
The late Robert Jordan’s THE WHEEL OF TIME series, to Universal in an outright buy, in a significant deal, by Joel Gotler of Intellectual Property Group, on behalf of Nat Sobel at Sobel Weber Associates.

A move back to historical. Interesting.
Anne …

This week features some big names in epic fantasy and a gangsta chef. Really.

Not sure if this will be mainstream or fantasy (PM is mixed) but the rumor is that this went for a ridiculous amount of money.
NYT bestselling author Terry Goodkind’s contemporary thriller set in an American city, and two other novels, moving to Ivan Held at Putnam, in a joint venture with Berkley, with Susan Allison editing.

I have to admit that this sounds clever. Win!
Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough’s BARQUE CATS, like sailing ships of old, spaceships have cats but in space they are rare and valuable; what humans do not know is that the cats are plotting to take over the universe, to Sue Moe at Del Rey, in a good deal, in a two-book deal.

The Dabel Brothers are cleaning up: Jim Butcher, LKH, Patricia Briggs, and now Jordan.
Comic-book format editions of Robert Jordan’s bestselling 12-volume Wheel of Time series, to Dabel Brothers Publishing, for publication beginning in December 2008.

500 Blazes! Holy cow.
Stephanie Bond’s book for the 500th Blaze release, a single-author anthology, for publication in October 2009; and a story patterned after A Christmas Carol about a prickly woman who has an encounter with a …

Robert Jordan died on September 16, 2007, before the final Wheel of Time book could be written. Yesterday, Tor Books announced Brandon Sanderson will write the final novel. Sanderson is a good guy who I poked about his blog post that we readers should buy hardcover. Sanderson, I do think that this is one book that many people will be buying in hardcover.

Robert Jordan, author of a seemingly endless Wheel of Time series, died peacefully on Sunday afternoon. He had been ill with amyloidosis for some time so the end was not a surprise. Fans of the series expressed sadness as Jordan’s death and frustration with the lack of conclusion to the series.

RIP JOrdan.

Via Media Bistro.