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The
Warren Adler E-Sheet Six
In
this issue:
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Greetings
From Publishing Central
We
are happy to offer you another issue of the Warren
Adler E-Sheet, which keeps you up to date on what is
happening in the author's world. We hope you enjoy it. |
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"Fiona"
Production Begins for Lifetime
With
The Lifetime Network
pilot based on my mystery series heroine Fiona
FitzGerald ready to begin filming in three weeks, I
thought it would be interesting to trace the evolution of the
five mystery books that form the basis for the character of
Fiona and her surroundings. Readers may be interested in
following this evolution and wondering why certain changes
were made.
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In
the first two books of the series American
Quartet and American
Sextet, Fiona's father is a retired New York
City policeman, thus Fiona's entry into police work is
her heritage. I decided on making Fiona a Washington
homicide detective largely because I lived in
Washington, knew the ambience and environment, and had
done considerable research about the Washington Police
Department. One of my friends was actually a police
detective in the Homicide division.
After
the publication of these books, movie interest ensued.
People were just getting interested in Washington as a
venue for stories based on chicanery and other forms of
skullduggery and scandal, Watergate being a prime
example. It was then that I decided to make Fiona's
antecedents political and more Washington based. So,
with an exercise of authorial sleight-of-hand, her New
York cop father became a United States Senator from New
York of high moral purpose who was now deceased.
With
this ancestry I carried her through three additional
books, Senator
Love, Immaculate
Deception and The
Ties That Bind. In these stories, Fiona has
various partners, male and female, but her character
remained constant throughout the five books and will
continue into the series. Her detective turf also
remains the same, since she was only active in those
cases which involved high-level Washington types:
politicians, media players, lobbyists, judges, military
chiefs, intelligence agents and others in this ego
driven landscape of our nation's capitol.
For
those that have not read these five books, Fiona
Fitzgerald can be characterized as independent,
articulate, attractive, tough, strong, feisty, sensual,
sexually exciting, brilliant and able to mix easily in
the gritty mostly black world of the Washington Police
Department as well as the heady world of the mostly
white social and power elite. She is a born skeptic, can
spot a cover-up and a pack of lies in a New York minute
and continues to be disappointed in her relationships
with men. She's still looking for Mr. Right.
Some
changes are contemplated in the series for a number of
supporting characters, but Fiona remains exactly the
same as she was when originally conceived and should, if
all goes well, explode in TV land next season. The
production is in excellent hands of my friend and
producing partner Dan Blatt,
who has produced a long string of television hits. We
are very hopeful that Fiona,
which is the series name, will become a permanent
feature on Lifetime as a TV police detective.
People
interested in this genre and Fiona
FitzGerald's adventures can order the books through
all retail establishments as an eBook or as a
traditional book in soft or hardcover.
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"Cult,"
My Latest Novel
 My
latest novel Cult,
a story of "brainwashing and death," deals with a
husband trying to rescue his wife from a deadly mind cult. It
will be published next month as an eBook and in June as a
hardcover.
I
decided to publish this book now because it delves into the
dark mysteries of brainwashing and how people can be
programmed to perform the most barbaric acts of cruelty in the
name of some nebulous cause. What we witnessed on September
11th was a prime example of how brainwashing can have tragic
and disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, brainwashing is a
difficult process to understand and has a lot to do with the
inner workings of the human brain, still the most mysterious
and unknown of the body's organs.
Having
researched cults for decades, I have learned how difficult it
is to communicate to others the strange process of recruitment
and indoctrination that occurs in transforming a normal human
being with rational thoughts and ideas into a mental slave
controlled by a cult leader's twisted command. Worse, the task
of reprogramming a cult member back to normality is not only
difficult; it is often impossible.
My
story will take the reader through a suspenseful journey and
offer some accurate insights into a phenomenon that often
evades the radar of human understanding. Hopefully, you will
hear a great deal about this book through an extensive
awareness campaign of publicity and speaking engagements.
The
eBook Story
 Contrary
to what the media has been saying, eBooks are becoming more
and more popular. A number of colleges, for example, have
done away with textbooks completely and are using digitized
eBooks as the mandatory textbook of choice. This phenomenon is
also accelerating in the legal, business and medical
professions and is starting to make inroads in the grade
school and adult reading markets as well.
As
far as I can tell, I am still, arguably, the only author in
the world with all of my now 25 books available for sale on
the Internet as an eBook, through every e-tailer on the
planet. And through the miracle of print-on-demand, my books
are also available in soft cover and hardcover everywhere,
including independent bookstores and the national chains here
and in other countries.
We
have just converted all of my books into the Mobipocket
formula through Franklin eBooks on their devices. At this
point, there is no available distribution format we have
neglected and I am happy to say that sales have been
accelerating.
Unfortunately,
the mainstream media, listening only to the major publishers
who still have not gotten a firm handle on the eBook
phenomena, have been critical towards the eBook. But they
are dead wrong. While paper books will never disappear,
they will eventually decline as more and more eBook titles
become available on sophisticated, multi-function, inexpensive
and user-friendly devices, now in the pipeline.
Many
folks, for example, are amazed when I tell them Palm
Digital is selling more than a thousand books a day for
readers to read on their Palm Pilots and other portable
devices. Contrary to the media reports, the eBook is alive,
well and growing.
And
recently, Barnes & Noble had this to say about eBooks:
"…
Our substantial experience as booksellers leads us to believe
that the eBook format, like the audio book, will stand
alongside the print book to introduce a writer's work to a
larger audience. And as pioneers in the eBook field, we
firmly believe that eBooks are here to stay. More importantly,
we are excited about the forthcoming advances in technology
that we expect will redefine the definition of an eBook in
years to come."
Upgrades
to the Website!
I'm
also pleased to tell you that new changes to the Warren Adler
website make it easier than ever to search and easier to order
books. Now, when you go to the Warren
Adler Bookshelf, instead of a drop down menu listing
titles and formats, you will see each title and cover art
along with a brief description of the book.
To
learn more about the book, read the first chapter, or find or
compare purchasing options, simply click on the book. We are
now linked directly to featured retailers. It's fast and easy
to order any format!
Until
next time…
Warren
Adler
Visit
Warren Adler's homepage
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