I just finished writing the first draft of DIAGNOSIS MURDER #8: THE LAST WORD. It was actually due yesterday, but my editor kindly gave me an extension until Monday. It’s the first deadline I’ve ever missed — I didn’t even have two broken arms this time as an excuse. Life just sort of conspired against me on this one — and it turned out to be a much longer book than I anticipated. I wrote this one in many different places, from my home in Los Angeles to a hotel room in Cologne, Germany. If this does turn out to be the final DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel, I think I’ve left my characters in a good place, facing new lives and new challenges. If there ends up being more adventures, then I think created the opportunity to "reinvigorated" the franchise, which will allow me to tell fresh and exciting stories with these characters without trodding over old ground.
Diagnosis Murder
It Never Entered My Mind
Paramount has reversed course and the season one DIAGNOSIS MURDER boxed set, to be released in September, will now include "It Never Entered My Mind," the pilot which aired as an spin-off episode of JAKE AND THE FATMAN. In the pilot, Dr. Mark Sloan was a widower without any children. His investigative sidekicks were Kristoff St. John and Ally Walker (as Dr. Amanda Bentley, a role later played by Cynthia Gibb and Victoria Rowell). But it still looks like the set won’t include the TV movies that preceded the weekly series.
DM on DVD
Tvshowsondvd has the latest news on the first season boxed set of DIAGNOSIS MURDER, which will be released on Sept. 12. So far, it looks as though they won’t be including the original pilot (which aired as an episode of JAKE AND THE FATMAN) or the three TV movies which preceded the hour-long series. The set will include a flier advertising my seventh DM novel, THE DOUBLE LIFE, so that should be reason enough to buy it!
Stunt Casting
I was looking for a racy and suggestive DIAGNOSIS MURDER shot to
illustrate the previous post and, shockingly, couldn’t find one. But I did
stumble on these gallery shots from some of our big stunt casting episodes (MANNIX, MATLOCK, TV Spies, TV Doctors, TV Cops, TV Sf, M*A*S*H). They brought back some fond memories for me and reveal why TV geeks should never be put in charge of a series. (Click on the pictures for larger images).
There’s Also a Sex Cult at Leisure World based on DIAGNOSIS MURDER Novels
Police in the UK busted a sex slavery cult who based their S&M lifestyle on a series of 1960s sf novels.
The Kaotians are a splinter group of the Goreans, which according to estimates number 25,000 followers nationwide. Both
groups base their slavery and dominance beliefs on a series of novels
written by John Norman, an American philosophy academic. THE CHRONICLES OF GOR depict a society, called the land of Gor, which is divided into
castes, and where women are kept as slaves.
(thanks to Bookslut for the heads-up)
I’m Done!
I just this minute finished writing the final draft of MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU, my third book in the series, and had to tell somebody (everybody in my house is asleep already). I’m a week ahead of my deadline, so I will probably set the manuscript aside for a day or two and then read it again to make sure everything tracks. Or I may simply turn it in and be done with it. Regardless, I won’t do anything with it until Monday.
The timing is perfect, because Bill Rabkin and I are about to start writing a freelance script for a hot new TV series (more on that later) and I won’t have to worry about finishing the book, too. I do have to start thinking about my eighth DIAGNOSIS MURDER book, though, which is due in three-and-a-half months…
So tomorrow I’ll do my little book-completion ritual. I’ll put my Murder Book (my binder of notes, outlines, photos, etc. related to the book) in a box in the closet and clean up my office, which tends to go to hell while I’m writing.
Diagnosis Murder: The Dead Letter
I’ve received several emails today asking how you can get signed copies of DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DEAD LETTER. It’s easy. Simply send an email to Mysteries To Die For, a bookstore in Thousand Oaks, CA and they can give you the details. They will swiftly deliver signed, personalized copies of any of my books (Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Man With the Iron-On Badge) to just about anywhere the world.
Rowell Lands Movie
Actress Victoria Rowell, who played Dr. Amanda Bentley in DIAGNOSIS MURDER, will star opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the movie HOME OF THE BRAVE. Christina Ricci and 50 Cent also star in the film, which is about three soldiers returning home from Iraq.
The Dead Letter
DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DEAD LETTER comes out on Tuesday. If you’re a DM fan, please read the book BEFORE you read the teaser chapter for THE DOUBLE LIFE at the end…or you’ll be cheating yourself out of some surprises.