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News and Updates Archive -- 2010
2010-02-15 — Print On Demand (POD) reprints, book reviews
Pocket Books has reissued/will be reissuing trade paperback editions of Robert
McCammon's 1980s novels Mystery Walk and Usher's Passing. Both books are Print On
Demand (POD) books, which supposedly explains their high list prices ($25.99
and $24.99, respectively). Both books have a listed publication date of April
1, 2010, but Mystery Walk is already available now from Amazon.com at a
discounted price of $18.71.
The cover of Mystery Walk is identical to the last mass-market paperback
(MMPB) cover. While the POD book is physically larger than the MMPB, it was
typeset from the same source, so the text inside is identical in size to that
in the MMPB.
"Some books do not stand the test of time, but, after a second reading
seven or so years after its initial publication, I enjoyed this book
even more the second go-around...."
"The reader will have great fun as McCammon masterfully weaves the many
threads of his mystery, creates a fictional world with great skill and
still manages to keep some of the playfulness you can find in some of
his earlier works."
We have a few updates on Robert McCammon'sMister
Slaughter to share, in no particular order:
1. We have ordered the slipcases for the limited edition,
but are still a good 4-6 weeks away from being able to ship that version. We'll
post more info (and send it out in our newsletter) as soon as we have it.
2. The first edition copies, only available direct from
SubPress at this point, continue to dwindle.
3. Some online retailers have gone through their inventory
on the book and are waiting for more copies. Second printings are en route to
those who've ordered, so shipping status at Amazon, etc. should be back to
“Ships in 24 hours” very shortly.
4. Over at Matthew Corbett's World, the
site that Hunter Goatley runs for the series, he's recently posted a list of
characters from the Corbett novels—with descriptions to follow—along with a
copy of the actual
map that McCammon works from when writing the novels.
Finally, here's another fine review of the book, this time from
Sense of
Wonder: “Combining the best elements of detective, historical, horror and
conspiracy fiction, this is a book and a series that deserves a wide
readership.”
Posted on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 11:38 am.
2010-02-02 — Robert McCammon to participate in Read Alabama! program
Robert McCammon will be participating in this year's Read Alabama!
program at Bevill State Community College in Jasper, AL, along with other
Alabama authors.
On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 4 PM, Robert McCammon will give a brief
talk and will sign copies of Mister Slaughter and his
previous novels. The event will take place at Bevill Auditorium on the
campus of Bevill State Community College. Admission is free to the
presentation and to the preceding reception at 3:30 PM.
Russian publisher ACT is releasing their third hardcover edition of
Speaks the Nightbird, this one featuring matching art for their release of The Queen of Bedlam.
Two days. That's how long the second printing of Robert
McCammon's historical thriller, Mister
Slaughter, lasted, so we've ordered a third printing to keep our wholesale
and large online retail accounts supplied.
We have held back a limited number of first edition copies for direct sale.
However, that quantity is dwindling. If you're interested in a first edition,
please order direct from us, and we'll see that a well packaged copy is send out
your way. And while we're at it, thanks to everyone involved for making this
project such a success for us here at SubPress. We really appreciate the
support.
Michael Nehs of Frontsight Productions contacted me yesterday to report that
the Blue World movie is alive again. He wrote:
2009 was a difficult year in the film industry but we are back on track with
Blue World. The film is on its way to major packaging agents and
financiers as we speak and is officially scheduled for production fall of 2010.
We are very excited to produce this wonderful story this year. Thanks to you,
Robert and the fans for the patience on this project.
Here is the updated casting information. Mr. Nehs also stated,
"Father Lancaster has been difficult. Would love to hear ideas of
Blue World fans for this lead role." If you have suggestions, you
can mail to me at webmaster@robertmccammon.com and
I'll forward them to Mr. Nehs.
Original Music by Grammy-Nominated musician Carlos Villalobos
Music Supervisor/Composer — Pinar Toprak
Production Manager — Carrie Holt DeLama
Producer — Michael Nehs
Director — Charley Rivkin
If you missed out on Subterranean Press's signed copies of Mister
Slaughter that were briefly available last week, The Alabama Booksmith
still has signed first printings of Mister Slaughter available, as
well as signed copies of the hardcover
edition of Speaks the Nightbird and the trade paperback editions of
Swan Song, Boy's Life, Gone South, Speaks the
Nightbird, and The Queen of Bedlam. You can find them at AlabamaBooksmith.com.
2010-01-28 — Subterranean Press update: signed books, The Earwig, Limited Edition news
Subterranean Press posted this update on their website this morning:
We recently hosted Robert McCammon at a local convention
(see his website for photos). While
he was here, Rick was gracious enough to sign a number of trade hardcovers for
us. These are all first edition copies, and only available directly from
SubPress. Mister
Slaughter is already in its second printing, which copies we're using to
fill a huge backlog of wholesale and large online retailer orders.
Quantities of the signed hardcover are quite limited, so please don't delay
if you're interested in picking up a copy.
As a little added bonus for McCammon fans, you can read the front page of The
Earwig, the newspaper mentioned in the novel. Our thanks to crack
researcher Gwenda Bond for unearthing this little tidbit for readers.
Finally, we approved the slipcase prototype for the limited edition earlier
this week, which means we should be shipping finished copies to customers in
eight weeks or so.
2010-01-25 — Photos from Robert McCammon's book signings
Photos from Robert McCammon's book signings last week are now available for
your viewing pleasure! Thanks to Dave King and Laura Thorpe for sending in
their photos, and thanks to everyone who said hello at the Ann Arbor signing.
Thanks to Subterranean Press for inviting us to ConFusion! We had a great
time.
For those of you who can't make it to a signing but would like a signed copy of
Mister Slaughter, you can order one by mail from the Alabama Booksmith.
They also have hardback copies of Speaks the Nightbird and the trade
paperback editions of Boy's Life, Gone South, Speaks the
Nightbird, The Queen of Bedlam, and Swan Song. All signed
books will ship on Thursday, January 21. To order any of those, just use the
Alabama
Booksmith page for Mister Slaughter and add the other titles under
"Special Requests."
If you attend the signings, we'd love to have photos for the site!
A few months ago, we posted a link to YouTube video of
Timo "The Doc" Heikkinen
performing an original jazz composition featuring the opening
poem from Boy's Life. A newer recording of the song has been posted
on YouTube. This clip was filmed in the #1 live music club Tavastia in
Helsinki, Finland, in November 2009. It's a great song!
Another uncollected Robert McCammon short story is now available for your
reading pleasure, and it's a real chiller!
"On a Beautiful Summer's Day, He
Was" was originally published in the anthology
The Further Adventures of the Joker in 1990. Junior will give you the
creeps!
Robert McCammon was a guest of the Blog Talk Radio show The Funky Werepig on
Sunday, January 10, 2010. The show can be downloaded in MP3 format
here.
2010-01-08 — Robert McCammon answers your questions!
Hi everyone,
As I'm waiting for the official pub date of Mister Slaughter,
I've been going back over comments and questions that some of you guys
have posed over the last few months, and I wanted to respond.
First off, I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to have loyal readers.
Telling a story and communicating with people is what it's all about,
and I have to say that looking back over all the comments I feel like a
very lucky person indeed. I've always said that I first write a book for
myself because it's a story I want to read, but knowing that other
people are enjoying the books, understanding the characters and what I'm
trying to express...it's really a great feeling, so I wanted to thank
all of you very, very much.
I really enjoy reading your comments. I'm so glad my work has given you
pleasure and, in a way, become a part of your life. What more is there
for a writer, than to reach out and be accepted? Again, I'm a very
fortunate man.
To the comments and questions:
Jean-Frederic Chaleyat asks about movie rights to The Wolf's Hour, and what's going on there.
I can answer that the movie rights have been optioned and there's a very
good chance the movie will actually be made...but, as always, we'll have
to wait and see.
Paul Taylor asks if there's any way the "hardcore" can read
The Village.
You know, I took The Village out of its box not long ago and
re-read it. I think I probably need to tighten it up some, but it
wouldn't be such a difficult task. The problem—and I think this is
also part of why it was never picked up by a publisher—is that it
concerns a part of World War II that most Americans know nothing about.
(And probably don't care much about, either!) Namely, the partisans
fighting in Yugoslavia against the Germans. There's really more to it
than that, but it's told from the viewpoint of the Russians and...well,
it's a pretty complicated plot. Plus it's very bloody and violent.
But...I might at some point clean it up and put it out there, so The
Village is certainly not dead. It's just that right now I have so
many other things going on.
Frederic Doss asks how he would find out about acquiring the film rights
to Gone South.
Years ago, I got a telephone call in the middle of the night from a
young man who'd just won a big lottery jackpot. He'd gotten my number
from the operator by saying it was an emergency call. But, anyway, he
wanted to use some of his newfound money to option one of my books and
make a movie.
I spent about an hour talking him down to earth. I told him to enjoy his
money and not throw it away, which is exactly what he would've been
doing if he'd tried to get into the movie-making business.
The film business will gladly eat any amount of money you wish to throw
at it, burp and ask for more. Without hugely deep pockets and a studio
behind you—and even with these things—you would likely have
nothing to show for the money you've spent.
I hope someday Gone South becomes a movie. I hope others of
my books become movies...if they turn out to be any good. Because,
really, even spending multiple million dollars on movies doesn't mean
they're going to be watchable. It's just feeding the beast.
So, Frederic, thank you for asking, but please keep your money, go out
to good dinners, enjoy some bottles of wine and nice trips and have fun
with your cash. Even if you had millions to throw away, I would say
don't go down that movie road. There's a reason most movies are put
together by conglomerates and financial companies using other peoples'
money!
Wayne Rogers wants to know what happened to my hair.
Okay, here's the mathematical formula to explain it: Life as a writer +
dealing with the publishing business + fatherhood to a teenaged
daughter x the trials and tribulations of 2000 to 2009 = WYSIWYG!
Lisa Schneider asks if I might be coming to Southern Cal for a signing,
and Jodi asks if I might be coming to NYC for a signing.
Not anything planned right now, but I think we have to see how Mister
Slaughter does.
If I could work out some book signings in both places, that would be
fun.
Carmella Dillman asks if Speaks the Nightbird will be released as
an ebook.
Working to figure out if that's possible right now. Also working on
getting some other titles into ebook formats.
Kyle Bakke asks if I'm not proud of Swan Song, and why I never
talk about it.
Kyle, I'm very proud of Swan Song, but when it first came out it
was blasted by some critics who said I was trying to copy King's The
Stand, and much of the heat directed at me over that book was pretty
hot. Over time, Swan Song has stood on its own, but I guess it's
still a sore spot for me. One of the reasons I wanted to do historical
work was that for awhile some of these same critics were saying that
everything I was writing was ripping off King. I remember somebody
talking on a forum about MINE, saying that they'd heard it was an
idea King was going to do and that I must have ripped it off before he
could write it. Another person said I'd ripped the Wolf's Hour
character off from the werewolf in The Talisman.
But the deal is, the last King book I read was The Dead Zone. I
just stopped reading him, because of the very cutting criticism I was
getting. Somebody even said the monster in Stinger was like the
monster in IT, which I never read.
So if I don't talk about Swan Song, it's not that I'm not proud
of my work...it's just that it was not really recognized as my
work until enough time had passed to cool some fires.
Some news:The Five is making the rounds of publishers right now
and I'll be starting the next Matthew Corbett book, The Providence
Rider, pretty soon. I'm putting the plot together now, and tying
some things together with things that happened in Mister
Slaughter. Going to be interesting to get my head back in the flow
of 18th century language as opposed to modern.
Again, thank you very much for your comments. I'm so glad you all have
your favorite books.
This sounds like a cliche, I know, but my favorite book is always the
one I'm working on.
Thanks for sticking with me.
I wish you a great and happy beginning to 2010, and I look forward to
your continued comments and questions on the website.
Best Wishes,
Robert McCammon
2010-01-06 — Mister Slaughter update from Subterranean, new interview
Also available on the Subterranean Press site is an exclusive new interview
with Robert McCammon, along with a 171-page excerpt from Mister
Slaughter! Check their
site for all the details.
So what happens when you make a deal with the devil? Things go wrong. We all
know that. McCammon strings it out, lets us meet people and like them and all
the time Slaughter is being malleable and friendly and you're just waiting for
it to go wrong. When it does, it's sudden and shocking. Brilliantly handled by
the author... Put simply, if it doesn't contain a copy of Mister
Slaughter, your book collection will be sadly lacking.
Finally, here are a few recent blog mentions of McCammon works:
Subterranean Press kicks off the new year with this exciting shipping update:
Mister Slaughter (Robert McCammon) — The trade hardcover of this much
lauded historical thriller should be in our offices on January 6. We'll
begin shipping all orders immediately. Please note: We've already
ordered a second printing of the trade hardcover, which means first
editions may be scarce on the ground before long. Also, the limited
edition will take roughly six to eight weeks longer to produce, as we
wait for the slipcases to be produced.
If you haven't ordered a copy yet, you can do so by clicking on the image to
the right or by clicking here.
