Five Star just sent me this fantastic cover for Bad Karma (due this Oct.) The mountains in the background are the Flatirons (Boulder, Co.)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Bad Karma
Five Star just sent me this fantastic cover for Bad Karma (due this Oct.) The mountains in the background are the Flatirons (Boulder, Co.)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Book scorecard
All of a sudden I've got a bunch of books coming out--6 in total over the next 2 years, and with some luck maybe a couple more (although those would have to be with pseudonyms). Here's a quick rundown:
Pariah (Oct. 09, Serpent's Tail)--This is the second of my loosely themed "man out of prison" crime noir novels, and probably the one I'm most excited about. It's definitely the most explosive book I've written, as well as the most subversive.
Bad Karma (Oct. 09, Five Star)--Sequel to Bad Thoughts, although instead of being the grim and weird mix of horror and crime that Bad Thoughts was, this one is a hardboiled PI set in Boulder, Colorado, with some quirky new age aspects to it.
Killer (Jan. 10 (UK), Serpent's Tail)--The third of my "man out of prison" crime noir novels. Existential noir.
28 Minutes (July 10 (UK), Serpent's Tail)--My bank heist thriller that's been optioned to Impact Pictures and Constantin Film Development. The US publisher for this one is still being worked out.
Caretaker of Lorne Field (Overlook Press)--This one's an allegorical novel, written as a mix of noir, sci-fi, and horror. A caretaker believes if he doesn't weed a field every day the world will end. Either he's insane or he knows something no one else does.
Essence (Overlook Press)--Gritty crime noir with supernatural elements. The book is placed in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with the time frame for most of the book centered around the 2004 ALCS Red Sox--Yankees playoffs, with the Yankees choke job (the worst in the history of professional sports??) seen through the eyes of a Yankees fan.
Pariah (Oct. 09, Serpent's Tail)--This is the second of my loosely themed "man out of prison" crime noir novels, and probably the one I'm most excited about. It's definitely the most explosive book I've written, as well as the most subversive.
Bad Karma (Oct. 09, Five Star)--Sequel to Bad Thoughts, although instead of being the grim and weird mix of horror and crime that Bad Thoughts was, this one is a hardboiled PI set in Boulder, Colorado, with some quirky new age aspects to it.
Killer (Jan. 10 (UK), Serpent's Tail)--The third of my "man out of prison" crime noir novels. Existential noir.
28 Minutes (July 10 (UK), Serpent's Tail)--My bank heist thriller that's been optioned to Impact Pictures and Constantin Film Development. The US publisher for this one is still being worked out.
Caretaker of Lorne Field (Overlook Press)--This one's an allegorical novel, written as a mix of noir, sci-fi, and horror. A caretaker believes if he doesn't weed a field every day the world will end. Either he's insane or he knows something no one else does.
Essence (Overlook Press)--Gritty crime noir with supernatural elements. The book is placed in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with the time frame for most of the book centered around the 2004 ALCS Red Sox--Yankees playoffs, with the Yankees choke job (the worst in the history of professional sports??) seen through the eyes of a Yankees fan.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Twitter: a fad, a colossal waste of time, or something else?
The Boston Globe today has an interesting article on the value of Twitter. Here are a few less than enthusiastic opinions that were offered in the article:
"I hate to be curmudgeonly," said Tom Davenport, who holds the President's Chair in Information Technology and Management at Babson College, "but Twitter reminds me of the CB radio fad. Twitter fans are the same people who last year were excited by Second Life. And where has that gone?"
On his blog on the Harvard Business Publishing website, Davenport wrote, "Let's face it - Twitter is a fad."
"First, as a professor there's a certain 'Decline of the West' aspect to the Twitter idea that you can say anything meaningful in 140 characters," he explained.
"But Twitter has more problems than that: First, it's not very measurable; second, I don't think it's possible to do brand management in 140 characters; and third, as soon as companies start using Twitter in an aggressive way, it could take on the clutter of e-mail."
And from Tom Simons, chief executive and creative officer at Boston-based marketing communications firm Partners+Simons:
"We pay a lot of attention to Twitter since it can be a very active market sensing tool," he said. "What's more, it's ushering in a new level of customer responsiveness because of the real time aspect of its feedback loop."
But does Simons tweet?
"I've done a lot of poking around within Twitter, and we have a company Twitter feed," he said, "but it is clear to me that in many respects Twitter is a very powerful magnet for valuable time that can be better spent elsewhere."
--------------------------------------------
Like a lot of authors today, I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to fall into this potential time sucking rat hole, and my gut's telling me this is a fad that will eventually pass. I'm sure in the very near future the twitter community will, like all fads, embrace a "twitterized" novel or two (or three), and the publishing world will then jump on it and buy it for a ridiculous amount, which will leave all the rest of kicking ourselves for not jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, but I just don't see how this can sustain itself, and as much as younger cell phone users might enjoying texting, at some point they'll find themselves swamped with "tweets", and start regarding these as little more than email spam. At least that's my gut.
Anyway, for the time being I don't see the point for writers to jump on this, especially given that we typically spend 6+ months holed up writing our novels, so how many interesting "tweets" can we possibly send out there?
I do think, though, it would be an interesting experiment for one of the crime fiction webzines (Thuglit, for example), to try twittering their short fiction, and see what happens.
"I hate to be curmudgeonly," said Tom Davenport, who holds the President's Chair in Information Technology and Management at Babson College, "but Twitter reminds me of the CB radio fad. Twitter fans are the same people who last year were excited by Second Life. And where has that gone?"
On his blog on the Harvard Business Publishing website, Davenport wrote, "Let's face it - Twitter is a fad."
"First, as a professor there's a certain 'Decline of the West' aspect to the Twitter idea that you can say anything meaningful in 140 characters," he explained.
"But Twitter has more problems than that: First, it's not very measurable; second, I don't think it's possible to do brand management in 140 characters; and third, as soon as companies start using Twitter in an aggressive way, it could take on the clutter of e-mail."
And from Tom Simons, chief executive and creative officer at Boston-based marketing communications firm Partners+Simons:
"We pay a lot of attention to Twitter since it can be a very active market sensing tool," he said. "What's more, it's ushering in a new level of customer responsiveness because of the real time aspect of its feedback loop."
But does Simons tweet?
"I've done a lot of poking around within Twitter, and we have a company Twitter feed," he said, "but it is clear to me that in many respects Twitter is a very powerful magnet for valuable time that can be better spent elsewhere."
--------------------------------------------
Like a lot of authors today, I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to fall into this potential time sucking rat hole, and my gut's telling me this is a fad that will eventually pass. I'm sure in the very near future the twitter community will, like all fads, embrace a "twitterized" novel or two (or three), and the publishing world will then jump on it and buy it for a ridiculous amount, which will leave all the rest of kicking ourselves for not jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, but I just don't see how this can sustain itself, and as much as younger cell phone users might enjoying texting, at some point they'll find themselves swamped with "tweets", and start regarding these as little more than email spam. At least that's my gut.
Anyway, for the time being I don't see the point for writers to jump on this, especially given that we typically spend 6+ months holed up writing our novels, so how many interesting "tweets" can we possibly send out there?
I do think, though, it would be an interesting experiment for one of the crime fiction webzines (Thuglit, for example), to try twittering their short fiction, and see what happens.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A recent Web-review
Kevin Tipple, who has previously reviewed both Fast Lane and Bad Thoughts, has probably as good a perspective on my writing as anyone out there, has recently recently written what I consider yet another very perceptive review, this time on Small Crimes.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
From the Harvard Coop
The above picture was taken by a friend last night at the Harvard Coop, where I had a reading event which was a lot of fun. As with the Brookline Booksmith, the person organizing it was extremely well prepared, and the people working there are not only book lovers, but they had read Small Crimes and were fans. Add in dinner at Henrietta's Table, and all in all, a very nice night. And it didn't hurt to see that the Yankees and their $370 mil payroll get smoked in their season opener!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
More Small Crimes events
Harvard Coop, 7pm, April 6th
Newtonville Books, 7pm, April 16th, with Paul Tremblay (Little Sleep) as part of their paperback books and brews program.
Pine Manor College, 3:30,June 23, Solstice reading, with Laura McCullough and Michael Sussman.
Kingdom Books, June 25th (evening), Waterford, VT.
Newtonville Books, 7pm, April 16th, with Paul Tremblay (Little Sleep) as part of their paperback books and brews program.
Pine Manor College, 3:30,June 23, Solstice reading, with Laura McCullough and Michael Sussman.
Kingdom Books, June 25th (evening), Waterford, VT.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Movie press release
Constantin Film and Impact Pictures are putting out the following press release. This is only the first step along a long road to seeing a film made of my book '28 Minutes', but I think this is going to happen--the people involved just seem too interested and serious about this for it not to happen. I'll keep people here posted over the next several years as developments occur, and hopefully Small Crimes will be next...
Constantin and Impact Get Outsourced
LOS ANGELES (March 18, 2009) – Constantin Film has acquired the feature film adaptation rights to 28 Minutes, the forthcoming crime novel from acclaimed writer Dave Zeltserman (Small Crimes). The film version, which will bear the title Outsourced, will be produced by Constantin Film’s Robert Kulzer and Impact Pictures’ Paul W. S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt. John Tomko will also produce. Travis Milloy has been tapped to write the screenplay.
Outsourced is the latest collaborative producing effort by Kulzer, Anderson and Bolt, the producers behind the hugely successful Resident Evil films. The project also marks the second time that the producing trio teams with screenwriter Milloy, who penned their upcoming horror-action film Pandorum, due out later this year via Overture Films.
A hard-hitting crime thriller mixed with black humor and fast-paced action, Outsourced follows a group of desperate out-of-work software engineers who come up with a brilliant plan to rob a bank, only to see things go awry and finding themselves mixed up with deadly Russian mobsters and the Boston mafia.
Said Kulzer: “We are big fans of Dave Zeltserman’s novels, so it’s very exciting to turn one of them into a film. It’s great to see a producer of John Tomko’s caliber at work and to reunite with Travis Milloy, who did such a fantastic job for us on Pandorum.”
Added Zeltserman: “I am thrilled that this project has found a home at Constantin Film and Impact Pictures and I am especially happy to have John Tomko as producer. I am a big fan of John’s films Falling Down and Ocean’s Eleven and feel that he has the right vision for Outsourced.”
Zeltserman’s 2008 novel Small Crimes was named one of the Top Five Crime and Mystery Novels of 2008 by NPR, who praised it as “a thing of beauty: spare but ingeniously twisted and imbued with a glossy coating of black humor.” His other works include the recently released Pariah, and the upcoming Killer (2010) and Caretaker of Lorne Field. 28 Minutes will be published by Serpent’s Tail.
Tomko recently joined Rain Management Group (RMG) as a producer and manager. Among the clients he works with are writer-directors James Sadwith and Michael Nankin, and writers Karen Janszen and Eric Tuchman. Zeltserman is repped by APA, which negotiated the deal with Constantin Film and Impact Pictures.
ABOUT CONSTANTIN FILM
Constantin Film has been one of the most successful producers and independent distributors of feature films in Germany for over 25 years. The company, which is listed on the stock market since 1999, is also involved in the international production of theatrical films in English as well as TV production (TV movies, series, entertainment formats). Theclassic production and distribution operations were supplemented successfully in 2004 by license trading and the internal exploitation of video and DVD rights and intensified TV service production, with a particular focus on TV entertainment. Constantin Film’s international box-office hits include The Neverending Story, The Name of the Rose, the Resident Evil and Fantastic Four franchises, Perfume—The Story of a Murderer and Academy Award® nominees Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex.
ABOUT IMPACT PICTURES
Impact Pictures was founded in 1992 by producer Jeremy Bolt and writer/director/producer Paul Anderson. Impact's first film, the cult hit Shopping, was followed up by Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier and The Hole. In 2000, Impact signed a joint venture deal with top German producer and distributor Constantin Film. This relationship produced the major box office hits Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction. Other releases include Alien vs. Predator, The Dark, DOA: Dead or Alive. Impact produced the recent Universal Pictures release of Death Race with Cruise/Wagner Productions. Two films based on bestselling video game franchises Spy Hunter and Castlevania, respectively, and the remake of Long Good Friday for Sony and Handmade Films are amongst Impact's current development slate.
ABOUT JOHN TOMKO
John Tomko has been active in feature film development and production since 1988. A graduate of Yale University (BA) and Harvard Business School (MBA), John found early success in the film business when he discovered and produced the movie "Falling Down" for Warner Bros. He has been a production executive at a number of companies and ran Jerry Weintraub Productions at Warner Bros. for six years during which time he supervised three movies for the company including "Ocean's 11". Before joining Rain Management Group as a producer/manager in 2008, John was an independent producer and has projects at Warner Bros., Overbrook Entertainment (Will Smith), Sony/Columbia Pictures, ScottFree (Ridley and Tony Scott), Lifetime, and Constantin Film.
Constantin and Impact Get Outsourced
LOS ANGELES (March 18, 2009) – Constantin Film has acquired the feature film adaptation rights to 28 Minutes, the forthcoming crime novel from acclaimed writer Dave Zeltserman (Small Crimes). The film version, which will bear the title Outsourced, will be produced by Constantin Film’s Robert Kulzer and Impact Pictures’ Paul W. S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt. John Tomko will also produce. Travis Milloy has been tapped to write the screenplay.
Outsourced is the latest collaborative producing effort by Kulzer, Anderson and Bolt, the producers behind the hugely successful Resident Evil films. The project also marks the second time that the producing trio teams with screenwriter Milloy, who penned their upcoming horror-action film Pandorum, due out later this year via Overture Films.
A hard-hitting crime thriller mixed with black humor and fast-paced action, Outsourced follows a group of desperate out-of-work software engineers who come up with a brilliant plan to rob a bank, only to see things go awry and finding themselves mixed up with deadly Russian mobsters and the Boston mafia.
Said Kulzer: “We are big fans of Dave Zeltserman’s novels, so it’s very exciting to turn one of them into a film. It’s great to see a producer of John Tomko’s caliber at work and to reunite with Travis Milloy, who did such a fantastic job for us on Pandorum.”
Added Zeltserman: “I am thrilled that this project has found a home at Constantin Film and Impact Pictures and I am especially happy to have John Tomko as producer. I am a big fan of John’s films Falling Down and Ocean’s Eleven and feel that he has the right vision for Outsourced.”
Zeltserman’s 2008 novel Small Crimes was named one of the Top Five Crime and Mystery Novels of 2008 by NPR, who praised it as “a thing of beauty: spare but ingeniously twisted and imbued with a glossy coating of black humor.” His other works include the recently released Pariah, and the upcoming Killer (2010) and Caretaker of Lorne Field. 28 Minutes will be published by Serpent’s Tail.
Tomko recently joined Rain Management Group (RMG) as a producer and manager. Among the clients he works with are writer-directors James Sadwith and Michael Nankin, and writers Karen Janszen and Eric Tuchman. Zeltserman is repped by APA, which negotiated the deal with Constantin Film and Impact Pictures.
ABOUT CONSTANTIN FILM
Constantin Film has been one of the most successful producers and independent distributors of feature films in Germany for over 25 years. The company, which is listed on the stock market since 1999, is also involved in the international production of theatrical films in English as well as TV production (TV movies, series, entertainment formats). Theclassic production and distribution operations were supplemented successfully in 2004 by license trading and the internal exploitation of video and DVD rights and intensified TV service production, with a particular focus on TV entertainment. Constantin Film’s international box-office hits include The Neverending Story, The Name of the Rose, the Resident Evil and Fantastic Four franchises, Perfume—The Story of a Murderer and Academy Award® nominees Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex.
ABOUT IMPACT PICTURES
Impact Pictures was founded in 1992 by producer Jeremy Bolt and writer/director/producer Paul Anderson. Impact's first film, the cult hit Shopping, was followed up by Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier and The Hole. In 2000, Impact signed a joint venture deal with top German producer and distributor Constantin Film. This relationship produced the major box office hits Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction. Other releases include Alien vs. Predator, The Dark, DOA: Dead or Alive. Impact produced the recent Universal Pictures release of Death Race with Cruise/Wagner Productions. Two films based on bestselling video game franchises Spy Hunter and Castlevania, respectively, and the remake of Long Good Friday for Sony and Handmade Films are amongst Impact's current development slate.
ABOUT JOHN TOMKO
John Tomko has been active in feature film development and production since 1988. A graduate of Yale University (BA) and Harvard Business School (MBA), John found early success in the film business when he discovered and produced the movie "Falling Down" for Warner Bros. He has been a production executive at a number of companies and ran Jerry Weintraub Productions at Warner Bros. for six years during which time he supervised three movies for the company including "Ocean's 11". Before joining Rain Management Group as a producer/manager in 2008, John was an independent producer and has projects at Warner Bros., Overbrook Entertainment (Will Smith), Sony/Columbia Pictures, ScottFree (Ridley and Tony Scott), Lifetime, and Constantin Film.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Interviewed on Crime Scene NI
First Pariah reviewed, then the interview with Crime Scene NI's Gerard Brennan. And while you're on the site, check out Adrian McKinty's review of Watchman.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Crime Scene NI on Pariah
"Pariah is a tense, violent and sometimes absurd study of criminality and the world’s obsession with it. Each layer has something to say that’ll leave you thinking, cringing or praying. But I mean that in the best possible way. Another great addition to the Serpent’s Tail stable."
Read Gerard Brennan's full review.
Read Gerard Brennan's full review.
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